Double Vengeance
by JSRobertson
Summary: Lee and Janet are confronted by a man seeking revenge against Lee.
1. Chapter 1

Double Vengeance

By JSRobertson

A large yacht was anchored near the entrance to the channel the submarine _Seaview_ uses to leave her pen from the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. They were prevented from getting any closer to the institute grounds by security so they had to stay where they were. They had put out fishing lines from the deck making it look like they had just stopped to fish. There was a man on the upper deck with high powered binoculars watching the employees and staff at the institute as they held their annual picnic on that warm Saturday afternoon. He was only interested in one person so he zeroed on that man, Lee Crane. He watched him for most of the afternoon. When he wasn't watching him, he was watching his wife, Janet, and how he interacted with her. "You'll be sorry Commander," he said out loud to no one in particular, "You'll be sorry." After watching him for a few hours, he put the binoculars down, ordered the crew to pull in the lines, they left the channel and headed out to sea.

((()))

After everyone had left the picnic, the admiral asked Lee, Janet, Chip, along with Chip's date Julie, to wait before they left as he needed to talk to them. He had to talk to Chief Sharkey first but would be with them shortly. Lee, Chip and Janet stood in front of the main office wondering what the admiral wanted. When he was finished talking to Sharkey, he walked over to them. Chuckling as he looked at them he remarked, "The three of you look like you've done something wrong and are in trouble."

"We weren't sure why you wanted to see us," Lee responded anxiously.

Smiling, "You've been working very hard so I just wanted to let you know I'm giving you the day off on Monday unless you feel you need to do more preparations for the mission on Wednesday." They were going to check on some sensors they had placed near Cole Island in the Pacific for a laboratory recording the temperature around some coral reefs. There has been some bleaching of the coral reefs due higher water temperatures so it was important that the sensors were properly calibrated. They were also going to add a few more sensors around the area. There were also a couple of technicians scheduled to return to the mainland so _Seaview_ would ferry them back.

"The crew will load the supplies and gear needed for the mission on Monday and Tuesday. Once that is done we are good to go first thing on Wednesday at high tide," Chip told the admiral.

"That's just what Sharkey told me," the admiral continued. "So I'll see you on Wednesday morning. I have a meeting tonight with a prospective client but I'll tell you more about it later."

"Thank you sir," Janet said with a smile as Lee and Chip nodded their heads in agreement.

((()))

The admiral got into his car and drove to his house so he could change his clothes for the meeting as shorts and a collared shirt were not going to work. He was meeting the client downtown on the waterfront at an outdoor cafe. He changed into his black suit, white shirt and black tie. He climbed into his car for the thirty-minute ride to the waterfront. The cafe with its red and white striped awning was tucked in with some town houses that faced the waterfront. After the meeting was over he walked down the lighted stone path passed a stairway leading into one of the town houses. Just off the porch was a huge rubber tree that almost covered the door. Just ahead of him on the stairs to another house, the admiral saw a man with a tall, very attractive brunette. He had his arm around her waist and gave her a long romantic kiss before they entered the house. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn the man was Lee. He only caught a glimpse of his face but noticed he was the same height as Lee and had the same curly black hair as his captain. He continued walking past the house, looking at the door as he passed it by. He walked to his car wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. Once in his car, he took out his phone and dialed Lee's number.

"Hello admiral," Lee answered recognizing the number. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes Lee. I just wanted to tell you I met with the client and we aren't going to be able to help him. Enjoy your day off," the admiral told him sighing in relief that the man he saw wasn't Lee. He drove home thinking about what he was going to do with his time off.

((()))

It was early on Sunday morning when Lee and Janet got up. They were sitting outside on the patio having their morning coffee when Lee said, "We're going to sail to Catalina Island today. Since we have tomorrow off I thought it would be good to get away."

Grinning, "Lee, whatever you want to do is fine with me. As long as I can have you all to myself, I don't care what we do," Janet said tenderly as she gave him a kiss.

Returning the kiss, he replied, "I have a surprise for you. I've made reservations at a hotel for dinner and we're staying overnight on the island."

"You were pretty sure that I would agree to go." Lee just gave her that special smile. "Well I guess I better start packing us some lunch and clothes for the trip," Janet answered as she went into the house.

After Janet went into the house, Lee called down to the dock to have Tony ready the boat for them.

An unfamiliar voice answered the phone. "Hello, this is Adam."

"Hi Adam, this is Lee Crane is Tony there?" he asked puzzled not sure who Adam was.

"No sir. He called in sick today so I'm taking his place. What can I help you with Skipper?"

Lee was surprised that he knew who he was. "I'm going to take my boat out today and need to have it readied for sailing. Is there anyone there who could take care of it?"

"Yes sir, I can. I know I work as a mess specialist on _Seaview_ but I've been sailing all my life. I'll make sure she's ready to sail. How soon would you like her ready to go?"

"Sorry Adam, I didn't realize you filled in at the dock," Lee replied embarrassed he didn't recognize the crewman's voice, "is an hour too soon?"

"No sir. She'll be ready in an hour."

"Thanks, Adam. We'll see you then," Lee answered and disconnected the call.

Adam quickly made a phone call. "You're in luck, boss. He's going out today."

"Great, thanks for letting me know," a man replied. He too had a grin on his face.

((()))

Lee and Janet packed their cooler with sandwiches, fruit, and drinks. Janet took a small bag out of the closet so they could pack some t-shirts and shorts. Since they were going to dinner, Janet put in a sun dress while Lee put in a pair black pants and white shirt. Janet had also put in suntan lotion and hats for both of them. Before they left Lee called Chip but it went directly to voice mail, "Hi Chip. Just wanted to let you know Janet and I are sailing to Catalina Island and won't be back until sometime on Monday. Hope you enjoy your day off."

"Did you get a hold of Chip?"

"No, but I left him a message. I pretty sure he's with Julie," Lee grinned.

"I hope he's having fun," Janet grinned back. "Maybe we can have some fun too," she hinted deviously.

Lee nodded in agreement as they grabbed their gear and headed to the dock. When they arrived they saw Adam waiting by the boat and had her ready to go. Lee's boat was a 22' one mast cat boat. He bought it for the name _'Second Dream'._ He purchased it used not to long after he got the job as captain of the _Seaview_ which he considered his first dream. He had it totally refurbished so it looked like brand new. It would hold up to four people but yet small enough for Lee and Janet to handle themselves.

"Thanks Adam," Lee said as Adam took the cooler Lee was holding and put it on the boat. He then took the bag Janet had and also put it on the boat. Lee helped Janet down the ladder and climbed aboard. "We won't be back until sometime tomorrow. I've let Mr. Morton know in case there's a problem. He can reach me by radio if the phone doesn't work."

"Okay Skipper. Have a good time," Adam replied as he untied the lines and threw them to Lee who stowed them in a locker. He watched them as they sailed out of sight down the channel into the ocean.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, "They just left and I put the tracker on board," he reported.

((()))

It was a beautiful day for sailing, just the right amount of wind, the sky was free of clouds and the ocean was not too rough. Janet had only been on Lee's boat a couple of times but they had never sailed as far as they would be today so she was a little leery when they couldn't see land anymore.

"Lee," Janet said softly, "Can this boat tip over?"

Chuckling he replied, "No sweetheart. Why do you ask?"

Looking embarrassed she answered, "I tipped over a sailboat the one time I went on it. It was a lot smaller boat and it hit a wake from a motor boat that wasn't supposed to be there and I couldn't get the jib out fast enough and it flipped over. We managed to grab the center board and right the boat but it was pretty scary."

He patted her hand trying hard to not laugh. "Don't worry sweetie, we'll be just fine. The only danger sailing to Catalina is staying out of the shipping lanes and watching the weather. But I checked the weather and its clear sailing all the way and I know where the shipping lanes are," he reassured her. "I'll show you how to sail the boat so you'll know what to do."

"Thanks Lee," Janet responded as he showed her how to steer the boat and work the sail. After her sailing lesson, Janet grabbed some sandwiches and water out of the cooler. As they sat next to each other in the cockpit eating their sandwiches, Janet watched her husband as he sailed the boat. "What's wrong?" he asked when he saw her staring at him.

"You look so relaxed, happy and enjoying the sea air," Janet told him. "You really do enjoy being in or on the water don't you."

"Yes, I love it," he replied giving her a kiss on the forehead as they continued on to Catalina Island unaware that there was a yacht following them.

((()))

They reached Catalina in the late afternoon and not a moment too soon as the weather was quickly changing. Lee found a slip at the dock and tied down the boat, lowered the sail and locked her up while Janet grabbed the bag she brought with. Lee took the bag, put it on the dock and helped Janet out of the boat. They walked hand in hand to the end of the dock and to the hotel.

They checked in and went to their room which had a beautiful view of the dock and ocean. Lee was happy he could see his boat from the window. The sky had gotten darker and it threatened to rain. After sailing all day, they were tired so before they got dressed for dinner they took a nap. Lee helped Janet removed her t-shirt revealing the skimpy swim suit she had underneath. It didn't take him long to remove that too. Janet helped Lee remove his shirt and shorts. They spent the next hour tantalizing each other before they joined in love. They laid there catching their breath for awhile before Lee got out of bed and turned on the shower. He soaped up and before long Janet joined him. He washed her back while she washed his. They quickly finished showering or they would be late for dinner.

"You look fantastic," Lee told Janet after she finished putting on her sun dress and just a touch of make up.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Janet replied looking over Lee who had rolled up the sleeves on his shirt and slipped on his boat shoes. Janet walked over to him put her arms around his neck and he lowered his head so she could give him a tender kiss. "We better stop now or we're never going to make dinner," Lee told her returning her kiss. "We better finish this later because I'm hungry," he snickered.

"Me too," Janet admitted. They left the room and walked down to the restaurant.

They enjoyed their dinner and were going to head outside for a drink when it started to storm. They returned to their room where they watched the lightening and the boats bobbing in the ocean as the sea got rough.

"How will we get home if the weather stays like this?" Janet asked worriedly.

"I checked it out, this is just a small storm and will be over before morning, so don't worry. Besides we do have an engine. It would be a rough ride but we could do it or we take a tour boat back to shore and fly home. We can always come back and get the boat later on. I've left it here before," Lee told her.

"Okay Lee. I know you wouldn't put us in danger," Janet replied and took his hand and pushed him down on the bed giving him a very long passionate kiss which led to other activities. They fell asleep and woke up very early the next morning to an overcast sky but no rain and a fairly calm ocean after the storm. They checked out and made their way to the boat and launched it for the long ride home.

((()))

They had been sailing for a couple of hours when Lee heard an SOS come over the radio. There was a boat in trouble and was broadcasting the longitude and latitude over the radio. Lee left Janet to sail the boat. As he left the cockpit for the cabin, he snickered, "Don't worry, sweetie, you can't flip her."

Janet looked Lee, "Thanks honey," she deadpanned.

Lee went to the cabinets where he kept the charts. He laid them out on the small table in the cabin and quickly located the boat. He returned to the cockpit and took over the steering.

"That boat is only a few miles ahead of us. We'll only have to veer slightly off course," he told her. "We should see if we can help them."

"No problem," Janet replied. "I wouldn't want to leave anyone stranded out here if they needed help."

Lee slightly altered their course and before long came across the cabin cruiser in trouble. Lee had Janet take the bumpers from the locker and put them on the side of their boat so Lee could pull up along side the crippled boat without damaging either one.

"Hi, I'm Lee Crane and this is my wife, Janet, how can we help you?" Lee asked the man by the side of the cruiser.

"I'm Arnie and this is Danny, he replied pointing to the other man on the cruiser. My engine stopped working. Do you know anything about motor boats?" he replied looking over Lee's sailboat.

Lee noticed him looking at his boat, "Yes, I know about boat motors," he answered looking at Janet who was trying to hide her grin.

Lee dropped the sail on his boat and left Janet in the cockpit while he jumped aboard the cruiser. He looked at the engine but couldn't find anything wrong with it. He stood up and was standing on the deck of the cruiser wiping the grease off his hand with a rag Arnie had given him. As Lee wiped off his hands he told Arnie, "You better call the Coast Guard and have them tow you back. I can't find anything wrong with your engine. Maybe you got bad fuel."

As Lee was talking to Arnie a large yacht stopped about one hundred feet off the port side of Lee's boat. A man on board yelled to the men on the cabin cruiser. "Is there a problem?"

Lee responded as he continued wiping off his hands, "He's going to need a tow back to the mainland. There's something wrong with his motor."

"No Commander," Arnie replied as he pulled a gun out from under his shirt. "There's no problem," he said as he started the engine.

Lee stared at him and realized they had been set up.

"How do you know who I am?" Lee demanded as Janet sat on their boat not knowing how to help Lee.

"It doesn't matter how I know, just do as I say and nobody will get hurt," Arnie told him.

Lee elbowed Arnie in the stomach hoping to catch him off guard but he managed to stay on his feet. He hit Lee on the back of his head, causing him to fall on the deck where he lay stunned for a few minutes.

"Lee," Janet yelled trying to get off their boat and onto the cruiser to help him. She was stopped by Danny who had come aboard their boat and pushed her back into the cockpit. She quickly brushed his hands away.

"I'm okay," Lee told Janet as he slowly stood up from the deck rubbing the back of his neck. "What do you want with us?"

"I'll let the boss tell you," Arnie replied as he pulled out some zip ties from his pocket and tied Lee's hands in front of him, put the cruiser in gear and motored over to the starboard side of the yacht where there was another man waiting to help them aboard.

"What about my wife," Lee asked, "please don't leave her there alone."

"Don't worry, Danny will stay with her until you get back," Arnie replied as he stuck the gun in Lee's back pushing him up the ladder to the main deck of the yacht.

Once on board, Lee was led to the main salon on the luxurious yacht where a man had his back to them when they walked in. Lee noticed the well appointed salon had two couches, teak tables and a flat screen TV.

"Welcome aboard Commander," the man said to Lee. "Too bad Arnie had to hit you, please don't try anything next time he will shoot you," he replied calmly as he turned around to face Lee.

Lee looked at the man and couldn't believe what he was seeing; the man looked just like him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lee shouted.

"Now Commander is that anyway to talk," the man said strongly. "I better explain who I am and why you're here."

"I think you better," Lee hissed.

"My name is Paul Gallagher. I'm an agent for the PR and a submarine captain. Now you're probably wondering why I look like you, well I'm going to take your place on _Seaview_ and your life. You see, three years ago when you were on a mission in the PR, I captured you and was bringing you to my superior for interrogation when you managed to escape. My superior was pissed with me, as you had gotten away from them once again. To make up for my embarrassment as I had _never_ failed on a mission before, I vowed to get you and return you to the PR. I knew the only way I would be able to get to you was to be you. I made my way into the United States with false papers and references and applied for a job on _Seaview_. _You_ even hired me as a mess specialist and steward. I was in charge of taking care of the cabins in officer's country."

"I don't recall anyone by the name of Paul Gallagher," Lee said curtly.

"Now Commander, there's no need to be nasty. I was hired under the name of Sal Silver," he told Lee who recognized that name. Paul continued, "I watched your every movement and took note on how you handled yourself with the crew and Janet but most of all how you commanded _Seaview_. I didn't want anyone to notice any difference when you're not in command and I am. After a year of service, I left _Seaview_ and had plastic surgery done so I could look like you. I had to make sure I was fully recovered before I put my plan into motion. That time is now. Sorry Commander, you will not be going home today. I _will_ be taking your place."

"You won't get away with it. The admiral and Mr. Morton will see right through you and know you're not me."

"Oh Commander, I wouldn't bet on it. I placed small cameras in the control room, wardroom, and other various parts of the boat. I've been studying you for over a year. I also discreetly made videos of you. I learned how you talk, walk, and eat," Paul replied proudly. "I even placed one in your cabin so I could see how you made love to your wife," he said tauntingly.

Lee lunged for Paul when he heard about the camera in his cabin but was stopped by Arnie who grabbed Lee by the arm before he got to Paul. "What are you going to do with Janet?" he asked worriedly. "She'll know you're not me."

"Don't worry Lee. I will take good care of her. Maybe she'll even like me better," Paul sneered. "I only need a couple more things, give me your watch, ring and phone. I know you never go anywhere without them."

Lee was seething as he reluctantly removed his watch and ring and put them in Paul's out stretched hand along with his phone. He quickly put the watch and ring on and put the Lee's phone in his pant pocket. "Take him below," he ordered Arnie.

Arnie took him by the arm and was leading him away from the salon when Lee raised his arms and hit Arnie in the face causing him to fall to the floor. Lee tried to make a run for it but was stopped at the door by a huge man. Arnie scrambled to his feet, walked over to Lee and punched him in the face jerking his head back. Lee lost his balance and fell to the floor where Arnie kicked him several times in the ribs. Lee let out a low moan as he heard them crack. Arnie pulled Lee up by his arms and pushed him down the stairs to the lower deck and into a storage cabin near the engine room. The only items in the room were a mattress and the paper goods they used on the boat. They weren't taking any chances on Lee escaping so they had a dead bolt lock on the door which Arnie engaged as he left. Lee looked around the room and saw there was no way out except through door. He noticed it was very hot and stuffy in the room. He looked around and knew there would be an air vent somewhere but with all the cartons and cases he couldn't see it. Even though his ribs hurt and it was hard to move with his wrists zip tied together, he managed to find the vent after moving some of the supplies out of the way. He took a deep breath of fresh air. Lee carefully sat down on the mattress as his ribs were hurting even more after moving the supplies, his jaw was sore and his eye swollen closed. He was worried about Janet and what Paul would do to her as he thought of a way to escape.

((()))

While Paul waited for Arnie to return he had summoned Howie to the salon for some final instructions.

"After picking up Arnie and Danny at the marina, proceed on course for the island. I will let you know when to assemble the men and have them there."

"Yes sir," Howie replied as Arnie returned from below. Howie left the salon and went up to the bridge to tell the captain as soon as the cruiser left the side of the yacht to get underway.

Arnie, make sure you keep Crane locked up. He's very devious and will escape if given the chance. I will let you know via phone if any action needs to be taken. Also, if possible, video everything that involves Crane, I don't care what it is. I might need it to keep his wife in line.

"Yes sir," Arnie answered with an evil grin on his face.

Paul had packed some things to take with him. He wouldn't mind wearing Lee's clothes but some items were too personal to share. Paul fingered the ring and smiled as he would finally get his revenge on Lee Crane.

"Let's go," Paul said as Arnie picked up his suitcase. They made their way to the back of the yacht and onto the cruiser for the short ride to Lee's boat. He couldn't wait to see Janet's reaction when she saw him. He figured he wouldn't be able to fool her but it would be fun toying with her.

((()))

Janet watched as the cruiser took off for the yacht with Lee. She wanted to follow the cruiser but wasn't sure how to put up the sail or start the motor. She turned to Danny, "Why are they taking Lee...what are they going to do with him...how did you know where to find us?" she asked angrily.

"Look lady," Danny said nastily. "I don't know anything. I was told to stay here and watch you, so that's what I'm doing...so just be quiet."

There wasn't any room to pace so she sat there staring at the yacht wondering what they were doing with Lee. Thirty minutes had passed when Janet finally saw the cruiser rounding the back of the yacht with Paul and Arnie. Arnie pulled up alongside the boat and shut down the engine. He waited for Paul to board the sailboat. Janet looked at Paul and couldn't believe what she saw. The man looked like Lee but she knew immediately it wasn't him. His eyes gave him away. Even though he had the same color as Lee, they had no warmth.

"Any problems?" Paul asked Danny.

"No, none. Just asked a few questions but I didn't give her any answers."

"Thanks Danny. You and Arnie can return to the marina and meet the yacht. Howie has the instructions on what to do next and knows what to do with Crane. If there are any problems, just call or leave a message."

"Yes sir," the men replied as Danny returned to the cruiser. He pushed the cruiser away from the sailboat and it quickly caught up to the yacht as it headed south. Paul pulled in the bumpers and put them in the locker and sat down next to Janet who moved as far away from him as possible. She was still staring at him. He could tell she knew he wasn't her husband the minute he stepped on the sailboat.

"Who are you...what have you done with Lee...where are you taking him...how did you find us?" Janet demanded.

"Hello, Mrs. Cra...Janet. I'm Paul Gallagher. "As far as all your questions, Lee is fine for now and you don't need to know where I'm taking him. I had a tracker placed on your boat. I've been following you since you left Santa Barbara. You docked the boat and stayed at a very nice hotel on Catalina Island and had dinner. But from now on you will call me Lee as I'm now your husband and captain of _Seaview_."

"No, I will not," Janet replied furiously.

"Yes, you will because if you don't and give away my identity, Lee will pay for it," he said harshly as he took a phone out of his shirt pocket. "You see this phone is connected directly to the yacht. If you do something I don't like, I will tell them to torture your husband. Look, he's already been injured." Paul showed Janet a picture of Lee with his eye swollen closed and a bruise on his jaw.

Janet took a deep breath. She was near tears but didn't want to give Paul the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"Just what gave me away?" he asked looking her over. _Not bad_ , he thought. _I just might enjoy being Lee Crane._

"Your eyes," Janet snapped back, "They have no warmth."

"Well, I can't change that," he replied coldly, "I think we better get underway as we don't want to get in too late as Nelson or Morton might send out a search party for us." Paul hoisted the sail and steered the boat in the direction of Santa Barbara.

"Why are you doing this?" Janet asked softly.

"For revenge," Paul said calmly telling her exactly what he told Lee. "Now Janet, I have some ground rules for you to follow. You already know about giving my identity away and what will happen. We will follow Lee's normal routine so I don't arouse any suspicion. I know we're leaving on Wednesday morning for Cole Island but I don't know why so you will fill me in. When we get into the office tomorrow, you will help me with the paperwork that needs to be done and any items the Lee was supposed to do. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Janet answered fearfully.

It was a long trip back to Santa Barbara as Janet wouldn't talk to Paul no matter how hard he tried to engage her in conversation. She just might have to talk to him so she could find out where they had taken Lee.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lee had fallen asleep but woke up when he heard the lock disengage on the door. When the door opened Arnie was there with a sandwich and a couple bottles of water.

"Here's dinner," he said to Lee handing him the paper plate. Lee looked at him and then at his wrists.

"Are you going to remove these so I can eat?" _Dinner_ , Lee thought. _How long have I been asleep?_ He looked at his wrist for his watch forgetting he had to give it to Paul.

"I'm sure you can figure out how to eat with those on," Arnie replied sharply.

"Can I use the head?"

"I guess so, but I'm warning you don't try anything. Howie is waiting right outside the door and he will have no problem stopping you from escaping."

Arnie led Lee down the hall to a small bathroom right outside the engine room. He waited outside while Lee took care of his business. Lee looked around and noticed a couple more doors. He heard the engines and knew they weren't running at top speed so wherever they were taking him they weren't in a hurry. Arnie grabbed his arm and escorted him back to the room. Lee saw Howie, a man weighing about two hundred and fifty pounds, blocking the stairway. Arnie shoved him in and locked the door. Lee sat down and managed to eat the sandwich and drink one of the bottles of cold water. He put the other bottle on his jaw and eye. He took a huge package of toilet paper and set it up against the wall in front of the mattress so he could rest against it instead of laying down which aggravated his sore ribs. He sat there for a few minutes before dozing off.

((()))

It was almost dark when Paul and Janet finally docked at the harbor at NIMR. Adam was there to meet them.

"Hello, Skipper, Mrs. Crane, did you have a nice trip?" he asked nodding his head at Paul which didn't get by Janet.

 _Damn_ , she thought. _That's how the tracker got on board. Adam is working with him and he's on Seaview too._

Paul stepped out of the boat and offered his hand to Janet to help her out but she declined and climbed out on her own. Adam jumped on board and removed Paul's suitcase along with the small bag Janet had and the cooler. Paul took his suitcase and Janet's bag while Adam took the cooler to the Crane's car. Once the gear was loaded Paul said to Adam, "I'll see you on board _Seaview_ Wednesday morning. Thanks for your help."

"Yes, sir," he replied and walked back to the dock to take care of the sailboat.

"Give me the keys to the car," he ordered Janet who reluctantly handed them to him. He unlocked the doors and held the door open for her. He climbed in the driver's seat and started the car. "Tell me how to get home from here." Janet gave him the directions. She sat looking out the window trying to figure out how to let the admiral and Chip know Paul wasn't Lee.

Paul pulled in the Crane's garage, turned off the car, opened the hatch and was removing the gear when Janet grabbed her bag and walked into the house leaving Paul out there. She turned on the lights, went into the kitchen and looked down at Chip's house. Sighing when she didn't see any lights on meant he wasn't home. Paul had come in the house and notice it was very nicely decorated. _I could get used to living here_ , he thought. He put the cooler on the counter and saw Janet staring at the house below.

"Who lives there?" he inquired.

"Chip Morton," Janet responded.

"How convenient. I know Lee and Chip went to the academy so if there's anything I need to know you had better tell me or you know what will happen," he said threateningly. "Give me your cell phone. I don't need you calling and telling Chip or anyone else that I'm not Lee."

She ignored Paul's request to give him her phone. He walked over to her and started to search her pockets when she grabbed his hand and twisted it. "Ouch," he yelled as he slapped her across the face. "Don't you ever do anything like that again. I'm not bluffing when I told you Lee will pay." He removed his phone from his shirt pocket and showed Janet video of Lee being kicked in the ribs. Her face went pale as she saw her husband being beaten. She removed the phone from her pocket and gave it to him.

She took her bag and went upstairs to her bedroom. Paul followed her but she slammed and locked the door in his face. Chuckling, he wasn't surprised. He was really looking forward to the cabin on _Seaview_ where they would have to spend the night together. He decided not to make any moves on Janet just yet. He made his way down the hall where he found the guest room and put his things in there noticing it was also very nice.

((()))

After Janet locked the door, she stood there, tears running down her face. She quickly wiped them away. _Crying isn't going to help save Lee_ , she thought. She was tired, hungry, and needed a shower. She turned on the water in the shower and got in. It was cold but after being out in the sun all day, the cool water felt good. As she stood there she was trying to find away to alert the admiral or Chip that Paul was impersonating Lee. _Maybe they will see through Paul and know it's not Lee,_ Janet thought. _This way he couldn't hurt Lee if she didn't tell them. If they don't see the difference, she would have to find away to be alone with someone. She didn't care who._ She finished her shower and was looking for one of Lee's shirts but she had done the laundry before she left. _Damn, no shirt._ She saw the bag on the floor and rummaged through it and found the white one he wore to dinner. She quickly put it on. _I'll find a way to save you, Lee._ She laid down on the bed but didn't fall asleep.

((()))

Paul was hungry so after putting his things in the guest room he returned to the kitchen to look for something to eat. All he found was bread, cheese and a couple of beers. He very rarely had to cook for himself but could make a grilled cheese sandwich. He searched the cabinets for a pan and when he found one he made two sandwiches hoping Janet would eat one. He grabbed the two beers out of the fridge and opened them up. He had no idea if she drank beer. He knew he had a lot to learn about her. He went upstairs and knocked on the door to the bedroom.

"Janet, I made you a sandwich. Would you like one," he asked politely.

"No, go away. I'm not hungry," she responded sharply.

"Suit yourself," he said as he went downstairs and ate both sandwiches and drank both beers. _She's going to be a little harder to control than I realized_ , he thought. He cleaned up his mess and went back upstairs to his room where he took a shower. He turned on the TV and watched the news before crashing for the night.

((()))

Janet woke up early the next morning and was contemplating calling in sick. She knew if she did, Jamie would be at her door as soon as he found out. She picked up the telephone in their room but didn't get any dial tone. Paul must have cut the lines. She was pacing the room trying to figure out a plan when there was a knock on the door.

"Janet, you better be up and ready to get to work on time. Don't say your sick or not feeling well as I know Dr. Jamieson will be at your door. Don't forget, my dear, that I worked on _Seaview_ and know how close you are to him. If you're not downstairs in the next thirty minutes, I will kick down the door."

Sighing deeply, she knew she would have to go to work. She didn't want to see Lee being beat up again. She opened the door exactly thirty minutes after Paul threatened to kick it down. She had put pants on for work. She never wore pants when they were at the institute unless she was going to be on _Seaview_. Just maybe someone would take note and say something so they would know something was wrong.

Paul was just coming up the stairs dressed in a t-shirt and shorts when she walked out. "Good morning, Janet," he said pleasantly. "I found a couple of bagels in the freezer and made some coffee."

He walked into the bedroom. "Where are Lee's uniforms?" he asked taking in the view as he walked over to the window and saw _Seaview_ bobbing in her pen. He then went over to a closet and opened the doors. He saw Lee's uniforms hanging there. "Where are the ties?" He started going through the drawers in Lee's chest when Janet slammed the drawer on him almost smashing his fingers. She returned to the closet wear the ties were hanging and handed him one.

"Please don't touch anything of Lee's. Ask and I will give it to you," Janet told him defiantly.

"Does he have uniforms on _Seaview_ or will I have to pack some?" he asked taking off his t-shirt and removed a shirt from the hangar, put it on and started buttoning it up.

"He has uniforms on board," Janet replied as Paul started to take off his shorts. Janet left the room and went down stairs.

She went into the kitchen grabbed a bagel and coffee and went outside on the patio. She was hoping Chip would see her there and realize something was wrong as they never ate breakfast on the patio during the week. She sat there eating her bagel looking for Chip but he never came out the door so he was either already at work or never came home.

Paul went outside dressed in Lee's uniform and saw Janet looking at Chip's house. "He left for work already," he told her smugly. "He had his jacket and cover on. By the way, what time do we get to work?"

Janet turned around and looked at him dressed in Lee's uniform but had to look away as she just wanted to punch Paul right in the face. "0730," Janet answered.

Paul looked at his watch and said, "You better finish up as it's already 0720 and I don't want to be late."

"I'll be ready in a few minutes," she replied going back into the house and put her dishes in the dishwasher.

She went upstairs and got her jacket. When she came back down, Paul was standing at the door wearing Lee's jacket and cover. She went into the closet, got her purse and walked into the garage without acknowledging him. _He does look an awful lot like Lee_ , she thought. _It's going to be very hard for someone to tell the difference by looking at him. Hopefully he'll mess up and someone will take notice._

((()))

Lee woke up stiff from sleeping in the upright position. He assessed his physical condition, his jaw wasn't as sore as before...his eye was still swollen but he could see out of it...his ribs were still painful. He took the bottle of water out from under the mattress and took a big gulp. It wasn't as warm in there as before but still stuffy and he could smell the diesel fuel from the engine room. He stood and carefully stretched as he heard the door being unlocked. Arnie had a tray of breakfast items for him. "What's with all the food," Lee asked trying to divert his attention so he could escape.

"Mr. Gallagher insisted you be taken care of. He doesn't want you _too_ incapacitated when he turns you over to his supervisor unless you decide to try and escape, and well then you might just arrive in bad condition."

As Lee went to take the tray from Arnie, he put his hands underneath and pushed it up into his face. He quickly ran out the door and up the stairs. Just as he found a way off the boat, Howie came up from behind and grabbed his arm, spinning him around and punched him in the stomach. Lee fell to the deck trying to catch his breath. Howie picked him up, dragged him back down the stairs and shoved him into the room.

"One more stunt like that and you're going to pay the consequences along with your wife," Arnie said to Lee giving him a kick in the ribs again and left locking the door. Lee doubled over in pain and was still trying to catch his breath. He heard Arnie say Janet would pay for his actions. He crawled over to the mattress and sat up against the toilet paper. He knew if he laid down it would be harder to breath and he was already having a hard time catching his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Paul followed Janet out to the garage and got into the car. "Tell me how to get to the institute offices."

Janet gave him directions and told him where to park. She got out of the car but Paul sat there a little longer. He took a deep breath and finally got out of the car following Janet to the front door. She greeted Howard, and Paul followed her lead. They went over to the elevators and up to the second floor. As Janet went to leave the elevator, Paul grabbed her hand which she quickly shook off.

"What are the names of the other two assistants in the office?" he asked softly.

"Wanda is the receptionist and sits at the desk right as you get off the elevator. Angie is Admiral Nelson's personal assistant and is in his outer office."

"Does Lee call the admiral Harry, or Admiral…what does he call Chip…does Chip has a girlfriend?"

"He doesn't call the admiral Harry, just Admiral or sir. He uses Chip's first name unless there's a crew member present and then it's Mr. Morton. Her name is Julie.'

"Thank you for the information," he grinned.

"You do know I only gave you that information so you won't hurt Lee," Janet replied angrily as she left the elevator and walked to her office.

Paul had been in the institute offices only once when he worked on _Seaview_ so he knew where Lee's office was located. He went in, turned on the lights and hung up his jacket in the closet and put his cover on the shelf. He no sooner sat down at the desk when Chip walked in.

"Did you and Janet have a nice trip to Catalina?" he asked as he sat down in front of Lee's desk with a cup of coffee.

Paul had no idea that Chip knew they went to Catalina. _I better make sure I get everything Lee has done or said within the last few days from Janet_ , he thought figuring out that Lee had probably called Chip to let him know they were going to Catalina. "Yes, we had a great time. The weather was perfect for sailing. How was your weekend with Julie?" Paul asked calmly.

"Just fine. I really like her. She just may be the one," Chip confided to Lee as he stood up and started to walk out of Lee's office.

"That's good news. We'll have to get together and go out soon," Paul responded as he also rose and went out for some coffee. He knew that Lee liked to drink a lot of coffee from his mess specialist position. He was constantly bringing fresh pots up to the observation nose or to his cabin. It was something he would have to get used to as he really didn't like coffee and one cup per day was fine with him. He filled his cup and went back into his office while Chip returned to his.

Paul called Janet on the phone. "Get in here now," he said quietly but crossly.

Janet quickly left her desk and went into Lee's office. He was waiting for her at the door and once she entered the room he shut the door. "You better tell me everything Lee did or said within the last few days. I didn't know Chip knew 'we' went to Catalina. Luckily for you I figured Lee called him. What else took place?"

Janet told him everything she could remember. When she was finished, he was satisfied she had told him everything. "Bring whatever work you have to do in here. I don't want you talking to anyone."

"I can't do my work in here. I've never done that before and it will look suspicious," Janet replied.

"I'll make up a cover that I need you to help with a new filing system or something. Just do it," he ordered as Janet heard a ping on his phone and knew he had gotten a message.

"Yes sir," she answered. Just as she was opening the door the admiral walked by and stuck his head in the door. "Have a good weekend Lee?"

"Yes sir. How was yours?"

"Just fine," the admiral replied and continued on to his office.

He looked at the paperwork on his desk and made like his was working on it. He had left the door open so he could see and hear what was going on outside his office. Janet came in a few minutes later with her work. Janet was using Lee's computer while Paul stood behind her watching what she was doing. Chip was looking for her and saw her in Lee's office.

"Everything okay?" he asked thinking it was strange she was sitting at Lee's computer. "Janet, I need to see you for a few minutes. I want to go over the supplies for the mission tomorrow and make sure they were all ordered. Lee, can you spare her for a few minutes?"

"Yes Chip, no problem," Paul replied looking at Janet as she followed Chip into his office. Paul sat down at the desk and was able to see Chip and Janet working on the lists. She didn't say or write anything down. When she was finished with Chip, she returned to Lee's office and the computer.

Angie entered Lee's office at lunch time, "Janet, Wanda and I are going to the cafeteria for lunch would you like to join us?" Before Janet could answer Paul replied, "No, she's going to lunch with me."

"Okay," Angie responded quietly. She noticed that Janet was very quiet and was dressed in pants. She never wore pants when she worked at the office. She sensed something was wrong but she didn't know what. She walked out of the office, met Wanda at the elevator and they went to lunch.

"Where do you eat lunch if you don't go with the other women?" Paul asked softly.

"Normally to the cafeteria but I'm not hungry so we can stay here," Janet replied sullenly.

After she answered Paul, Chip walked out of office and stood by Lee's door. "How about we go to lunch at the cafeteria," he suggested noticing Janet was still there and didn't go with Angie and Wanda.

"I think I'll pass. Janet isn't feeling good and I don't want to leave her alone," Paul replied putting his hands on Janet's shoulder.

"Should I call Jamie?"

"No" Janet answered a little too loudly. "Just a headache, I think I got too much sun over the weekend. I'll be fine. If it doesn't go away, I'll contact Jamie."

"I can bring you both a salad when I return," Chip offered.

"Thanks Chip." Paul responded as Chip left the office and headed for the elevator. He wasn't sure what was going on with Lee and Janet today.

As soon as Chip left, Janet quickly removed Paul's hands from her shoulders. "Don't you ever touch me again," she said hatefully.

Taken aback at her tone of voice, Paul said, "You better get use to it, my dear, remember what could happen to Lee if you don't. In fact, let's see how he is doing."

Paul looked at his phone and there was another video of Lee being beaten this time by Howie. He showed it to Janet who could hardly hold back her tears. She quickly looked away and ran out of Lee's office. Paul followed her out and watched her as she went into the restroom. Janet stood at the sink, tears running down her face. _I have to let someone know about Lee before he kills him_ , she thought.

There was a knock on the restroom door, "Are you okay?" Paul asked annoyed.

"I'm fine. I'll be right out," Janet replied softly taking a paper towel which she ran under the cold water and wiped off her face. She opened the restroom door a few minutes later and Paul was waiting for her.

"Let's go back to the office," he demanded. "I don't want anyone to see you that you're upset."

Janet led the way back to Lee's office. They were just sitting down when Chip returned with their salads.

"Thanks, Chip," Janet said as she took them from him and set them on the desk.

"You're welcome," he answered back as he returned to his office.

The rest of the afternoon went pretty quickly and it was time for everyone to leave for the day. The admiral had been in one of the laboratories for most the day helping them with some experiments they were working on and wouldn't be returning to the office. Chip was going out with Julie. Wanda and Angie walked out after telling them to have a safe mission. Paul and Janet were the only two left. Janet went to her office to get her purse and coat. Paul took Lee's jacket and cover out of the closet and put them on. Janet saw him wearing Lee's clothes and wanted to slug him but knew that would only hurt Lee so she kept her feelings in check for now.

Paul decided he wanted to go out for dinner as he knew there was nothing in the refrigerator at the Crane's house. When he worked on _Seaview_ , he would sometimes sit at the entrance to NIMR and wait for them to leave. He would follow them around noting the places where they would eat and like to go so when they got in the car, Paul drove towards the exit at the institute.

"Where are we going...I don't want to go out...let's just go home," she replied tensely.

"No. You have nothing to eat there. We're going to Giovanni's for dinner," he said meanly as he stopped at the security check and Jeremy waved them through.

((()))

Once they were back at the Crane's house, Janet went upstairs to her room, shut and locked the door. She removed her duffle bag from the closet and was packing her gear when there was a knock on the door.

"Janet, open the door," Paul said curtly.

"No."

"I need to talk to you about tomorrow," he told her.

"Figure it out for yourself. You've watched Lee so you should know what to do," she replied tersely. After she told him that she heard ping on his phone. _Shit_ , she thought, _what have they done to Lee now?_ She quickly opened the door to the smug look on Paul's face.

"Shall we see what is taking place on the yacht?" he asked nastily. He typed the password into his phone and looked at his messages. "Oh good, there is one from them." He read the message and grinned.

((()))

Lee sat on the mattress for awhile before he was finally able to catch his breath. His ribs and stomach hurt along with his eyes and lips being swollen. He would have to figure out another way off the boat as he wasn't going to get by Howie. Arnie and Howie brought Lee his dinner. Howie stood at the door while Arnie put Lee's food tray on the floor. "Enjoy," Howie said grinning, slamming and the door and locking it. Lee looked at the tray of food which was a sandwich, chips and water. He wasn't hungry but knew he better eat as he needed to keep up his strength. He ate the food and gulped down the water. Even though he had moved the supplies away from the small air vent, it was still very warm in the room. He laid down on the mattress and fell asleep.

((()))

Janet looked at Paul as he read the message on the phone. She was afraid to ask what the message was as she couldn't look at Lee being beaten up again.

Paul looked her square in the eyes, "Your husband decided to be good, so there's nothing to show you," he told her with an evil grin. "But I'm sure he'll try something. We'll leave at 0500 tomorrow morning so you better be ready. Good night." Before he left the room, he went to Lee's closet and took out another uniform. He smiled at Janet as he closed the door. He stood by the door and heard her lock it. _Soon you'll have to sleep with me_ , he thought with a huge grin on his face. He went to his room, pulled out the duffle bag that looked just like Lee's and packed it with what he would need for the mission.

((()))

Paul was up by 0400. He quickly showered, dressed and went down stairs and made a pot of coffee. When the coffee was finished, he poured a cup and stood at the kitchen window looking at the ocean. He realized he was a bit nervous. He knew he could pilot _Seaview_ but was worried about taking her out of her pen and into the channel before getting into the ocean. He studied the map on the wall in Lee's office showing that the channel was a little shallow for a submarine as huge as _Seaview._ He knew about the bets Lee and Chip had about scratching her paint so he would have to be very careful. He finished his coffee and looked at his watch. It was almost 0430 and Janet hadn't come downstairs. He went upstairs to look for her and get his duffle when he heard to the door unlock. She had her bag over her shoulder and saw him at the top of the stairs.

"I was just coming to get you," he said reaching for the duffle bag but she held on to it tightly.

"You never have to worry about me being late," she replied as she walked past him and went downstairs. She took her bag and put it in the back of the SUV. She headed into the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee and looked out over the ocean.

Paul came down a few minutes later with his duffle bag and looked for Janet's. She saw him looking for it.

"I already put it in the car. I don't want you touching my things," she told him sharply.

Shaking his head, he went out to the car and put his bag in the back. After Janet cleaned up the kitchen she returned upstairs to get her jacket and finish getting ready. She looked at her watch and noticed it was 0445. She couldn't stall any longer. Paul was waiting by the door for her with Lee's jacket, cover and briefcase. He had the keys in his hand and waited for her to leave before he locked the door. She got in the car and was staring out the window. Paul got in started the car and drove to the dock area where he found Lee's parking place. Janet jumped out of the car and went to the back to get her duffle bag but Paul managed to beat her there.

"I know Lee does not let you carry your bag. I've seen him carry both of them and you carry the briefcase. So take this," he said shoving the briefcase into her hand while he took both bags and began walking to the dock.

((()))

Lee awoke the next morning to a throbbing pain in his ribs and figured he had a few more cracked ribs. His eyes weren't as swollen but his lips were still split. He needed to use the head so he gingerly stood up and was going to knock on the door when he heard it unlock.

He stepped away from the door. He wasn't ready to take on anyone right now. Arnie and Danny were at the door with his breakfast of cereal and coffee. He couldn't wait to drink the coffee.

"Can I use the head and take a shower," Lee asked as Danny set the tray down on the floor.

Arnie looked at Lee and he was beginning to smell a little ripe. "Sure but don't try anything," Arnie threatened as he pulled out a gun and cut the zip ties off his wrists. He walked Lee to the bathroom and waited while he took a shower and used the facilities. It felt good to let the warm water run over his bruised body and breathed in the fresh air. He dried off with a nice thick towel. He didn't have another set of clothes so he tried to clean up the ones he was wearing. He opened the door to find Arnie standing there with the gun on him and walked him back to the stuffy room.

Danny was waiting there for him to return with another set of zip ties. He zip tied Lee's wrist in front of him again. They left the tray there, shut the door and locked it. _Wonder where Howie is?_ he thought. Lee ate the cereal and savored the cup of coffee. He knew it would be hard to escape with his hands tied but he had to do something. He sat back down on the mattress and was thinking of a way to escape. He wondered what was in the other two doors across from the bathroom. He was pretty sure the one was the door to the engine room as it was made of metal similar to a hatch. If he could get in there, maybe there was some place to hide. His only problem was he didn't know where they were headed and assumed they were in the middle of the ocean so if he did escape where would he go? He looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use as a floatation device. He did find a small cooler and knew that type would float. He just had to find the right time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Paul and Janet arrived at the dock, Chip and Bobby O'Brien were already there. Bobby was checking in the crew as they boarded the boat. Paul and Janet walked over to the two men.

"Good morning, Chip, Bobby," Paul said putting down the bags while Janet stood a little behind him. "Has all the crew checked in?" Marco and Phil were just coming into the dock area. Paul knew the admiral was already aboard as he noticed his car in his parking place.

"Almost everyone; just a couple haven't checked in yet," Bobby told Paul. "We have just one small issue. Gary called me early this morning and he isn't going to be able to make this cruise. Seems he caught the flu from his daughter. There wasn't enough time to find a replacement so I assigned Adam to take over his duty as steward for your cabins. He should have no problem handling that job along with the laundry and mess specialist detail. I hope that's okay?"

Paul motioned to Marco and Phil to pick up their bags and when Janet heard that Adam was going to be near their cabin and her office, when she went to hand the briefcase to Marco, she dropped it.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Crane," Marco said as he picked up the briefcase.

"No Marco, it was my fault, I let go of it before you had it," Janet replied as Paul gave the crewman a dirty look. Chip and Bobby both looked at Paul strangely surprised that 'Lee' would do that.

Chip responded to Bobby, "That'll be fine." He was still looking at 'Lee'.

Marco took the briefcase and one of the duffle bags and went down the gangplank into the sub where he and Phil would put them in the captain's quarters.

"Let's get aboard Chip," Paul said as he and Chip saluted the colors before they walked down the gangplank.

Janet had a smirk on her face as she followed them down the gangplank into the service hatch. _That had to be hard for him to salute the US flag_ , she thought happily.

Paul went down the ladder first and helped Janet down just like Lee would do. She shook his hand off not caring if anyone saw her. Unfortunately, no one in the control room crew, along with Chief Sharkey, saw her as they were busy at their stations getting ready to shove off. Chip didn't notice it either. By the time they reached the bottom two more crewmen and Bobby were coming down the ladder.

"Everyone has reported in," Bobby told Paul and Chip.

"Thank you, Mr. O'Brien," Paul said as he turned to Chip. "Prepare to shove off, Mr. Morton." He removed his jacket and put it on the table in the observation nose along with his cover. Chip also put his there. Janet would take them to their cabins when she left for her office.

"Aye, aye sir," Chip responded taking the mic out of its holder. "Secure the deck detail, castoff all lines," he said shipping the mic.

The dock detail pulled up the gangplank and removed the lines holding _Seaview_ to the dock and threw them to the men on her deck. They stowed the lines and went below.

"All secure," Chief Sharkey reported.

"Thanks Chief," Paul said. "Mr. Morton how about you take her out this trip?"

Chip looked at Paul, "Afraid you'll scratch her paint today," he grinned as they made their way up the ladder to the sail bridge where Paul would watch Chip take her out. He looked at Janet who was standing at the plot table. He tapped the pocket where his phone was. She walked into the Observation Nose where she always stood when they left the dock. She let out a deep breath, so far no one had noticed it wasn't 'Lee' who was captain. As she waited in the observation nose for Chip to take out _Seaview_ , Adam entered the nose with the ever present pot of coffee. A mess specialist always brought it to the nose before the sub left the dock. He saw Janet standing there as he put the pot on the table and walked over to her.

"If you need anything, please let me know," he told her with wry grin.

"Thank you but I won't be needing your help," she replied not looking at him.

"I'll take the Skipper's jacket and cover along with Mr. Morton's and put them in their cabins."

"Whatever," Janet replied unhappily knowing he would be watching her every move. _There's only one skipper on Seaview and its Lee_ , she thought as Adam picked up the jackets and covers and made his way up the spiral staircase. It made her shiver to know he would be in her cabin.

She watched as Chip easily directed _Seaview_ out of her berth and down the channel into the ocean. As she stood in the observation nose, she heard footsteps on the spiral staircase and recognized them as the admiral's.

"Good morning, Janet," he said pleasantly. "How are you today?"

"Good morning, Admiral," Janet replied quietly. "I'm fine, how about you?"

"Just great," he answered looking at her curiously. She felt him staring at her so she added.

"I just love watching _Seaview_ leave her berth and make her way to the ocean. The view is still breathtaking."

Smiling at her, "I agree with you," he commented patting her arm and walked into the control room.

As Janet was talking to the admiral, Chip entered the control room from the bridge.

"Where's Lee?" the admiral asked when only Chip came down the ladder.

"Lee mentioned one of the missile covers didn't look right so he wanted to watch it for a little while to see if it would be okay when we submerged. He'll be right down," Chip replied.

"Is there a problem?" the admiral asked with concern.

"I didn't think so but you know Lee he knows every square inch of his grey lady and wants to make sure everything is in order."

 _He doesn't know anything about Seaview, he must be up to something_ , Janet thought as she stood in the observation nose where the admiral re-joined her.

((()))

Paul told Chip he thought something was wrong with a missile cover just to get him off the bridge. He wanted to call the yacht using his SAT phone. He quickly dialed up the yacht and got Arnie.

"We'll be at the island in just over four days. Make sure our men are there to 'welcome' _Seaview_. How's Crane?" Paul asked quickly.

"He tried to escape again. We managed to stop him but he's not going to give up trying."

"Do whatever you need to do letting him know he can't escape. I'm having a hard time with his wife too. She's harder to handle than I anticipated."

"Maybe Crane needs a suntan. After all he's been locked up in that small room for a long time," Arnie said with an evil grin.

Paul snickered at the suggestion knowing what Arnie had in mind. "I'll try and contact you before we get to the island. I'll think of something to get the boat to the surface."

Paul ended the call as Chip started up the ladder looking for him. "Lee is everything okay?"

"I'm coming down now," Paul said as he climbed down the ladder skipping the last three rungs. When he turned around he saw Janet talking to the admiral and wanted to join them but needed to give Chip the order to dive. Chip was waiting at the periscope island for him. "I thought one of the covers looked a little loose but it's fine so we should have no problems submerging."

Paul and Chip walked over to the plotting table, "Take her down to two hundred feet and run at standard," he told Chip.

"Aye, aye sir," Chip responded giving the orders to the engine room and maneuvering as Paul made his way to the observation nose.

After exchanging pleasantries, the admiral said, "Good job of taking out _Seaview_."

"I didn't take her out, I let Chip handle that duty today. I still haven't been able to collect on our bet," Paul laughed.

Grinning at Paul knowing both of his men were very good at taking the sub out of her berth and were having a hard time collecting on their bet. "How soon until we get to Cole?" the admiral asked.

"Running at standard speed we should be there in just over four days," Paul replied. "If we need to get there sooner we can take her up to full."

"No hurry, just leave her at standard," the admiral answered. "If you need me, I'll be in the lab working on some experiments."

"Yes, sir," Paul replied.

((()))

Paul discreetly grabbed Janet's hand and gave it a squeeze. "What were you and the admiral talking about?"

"I didn't give away your secret if that's what your wondering," she replied tersely.

She wanted to pull her hand out from his but didn't want to cause a scene. He squeezed her hand a little harder and she let out a low cry. Chip looked up from the plotting table but wasn't sure if it came from her. He stared at the couple for a few minutes and wondered what was going on. He could tell they weren't fighting but something just didn't seem right with them. He returned to plotting the course to the island.

"Don't ever cry out again or you'll be sorry," he said harshly. "What do you do once we get underway?"

"I go to the cabin, unpack our bags and then head to my office to post the inventory tickets, Chip will give me the duty rosters and work on any reports or other jobs I didn't finish at the office. You can unpack your own bag. Do not touch any of Lee's clothes but his uniforms, which I will burn when this mission's over," she spat. She walked away leaving him standing in the observation nose and went up the spiral staircase.

Paul watched as she went up the stairs. He was worried about her and what she would do. He hadn't planned on her being so uncooperative. He returned to the control room and stood at the plotting table next to Chip. He picked up a pencil and tapped it on the table just like Lee would do when he was worried.

"Everything okay?" Chip asked with concerned seeing Paul tapping the pencil.

"Oh yeah, just fine. Janet's still not feeling well. Just a slight headache," he lied.

"Maybe she should go and see Jamie."

"No she doesn't want to do that just yet," Paul replied as he left Chip at the plotting table and made the rounds stopping at each station in the control room checking on the equipment. He stopped to talk to each man at the station just like Lee would do.

((()))

As soon as Janet got to their cabin she unpacked her clothes. She was going to look for Lee's 45. She didn't know if she would need it but didn't want Paul to get his hands on it. She hoped it wasn't in the safe as she didn't know the combination. Lee didn't want her to know what it was for some reason so she never asked. She searched his desk and found it in the bottom drawer under some folders. She took it out and was looking for a place to hide it. She knew Paul would search every nook and cranny in the cabin. She decided to hide it in an obvious place. She went to the closet where Lee's jackets were hung and put it in the pocket of the one furthest from the door. Janet made sure that if Paul needed a jacket he would take the first one as she put it right in front of the door. She would move the gun later on after he was done looking for it. She finished up in the cabin and made her way to her office.

((()))

Lee woke up the next morning and wasn't as sore as he had been. He would try again to escape using the cooler he found as a floatation device. He had made note of where the door was leading to the deck. He knew it was a long way down to the water but he had to take that chance if he wanted to get away. He could only hope they were near a shipping lane and someone would spot him in the water. He would make his move when they brought him his breakfast.

He didn't have to wait too long before Howie and Danny unlocked the door. Howie had the tray in his hands while Danny waited outside the door. Lee stood up, grabbed the cooler and hit the tray knocking it into Howie's face causing him to lose his balance. He ran at Danny and hit him in the face with the cooler and headed towards the stairs. He had almost made it to the door leading to the deck when a bullet whizzed past his head.

"Stop or I'll shoot again and not miss," Arnie threatened. "Drop the cooler and step away from the door."

Lee thought about running out the door but decided Arnie wouldn't have a problem carrying out his threat to shoot him. He dropped the cooler, turned around and faced Arnie. "Commander, you just made a big mistake."

By this time Howie and Danny both had recovered and were standing behind Arnie. Both of them were pissed that Lee had made fools of them yet again. "Let's show the commander here what happens when someone tries to escape," Arnie said still glaring at Lee. "Remove your t-shirt and shorts," he ordered. Lee made no attempt to do what he told. Arnie motioned to Howie to 'help' him removed them which Howie did with no problem even with Lee fighting him. Danny and Howie led him out the door and onto to the top deck of the yacht. Howie pushed him down on the teak deck. He then tied his hands and feet to the clevises on the deck. The deck was hot from the sun beating down on it and burned his back.

"Let's see how he likes getting a suntan," Arnie hissed. As the three men walked away Danny videoed Lee laying the hot sun on the deck.

 _Damn,_ Lee thought as he struggled to get free, _They're going to leave me out here to fry_.

The three men returned to the cool cabin and watched Lee struggle against the ropes. "He's going to be burned to a crisp," Danny laughed as Howie got each one of them a cool drink from the fridge.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _Seaview_ had been at sea for a few hours when Chip left the control room to give Janet the duty rosters for the next three days. It wasn't unusual for him to leave for a few hours to do some paperwork. Paul wasn't worried that Janet would report to Chip that he wasn't Lee as Adam would be making his rounds delivering coffee, water and towels to the officer's cabins.

"Lee, I'll be back in a couple of hours. I have some paperwork to catch up on and give Janet the duty rosters I've prepared," he told Paul as he took some papers with him from the shelf on the plotting table.

"No problem," Paul replied looking at his watch. "How about we meet for lunch at 1300 hours. Tell Janet to meet us there."

"No problem," Chip answered and went the spiral staircase heels clicking on the metal stairs.

Once in officer's country, he went down the passageway to Janet's office. Normally they would meet in his cabin to go over the duty rosters but he had them done and just needed to stop and pick up some reports he needed her to do before he would return and complete some more paperwork. He quickly stopped in his office, picked up the folder and walked to Janet's office. Before he rounded the corner to her office Adam came out of the admiral's cabin and saw him. He quickly picked up a pitcher of water from his cart and followed him stopping at the corner so he could hear what they were talking about.

Janet looked up from her computer when Chip walked in. She was disappointed that he came to her office instead of meeting in his. They would have been alone and she hoped to tell him about Paul. Adam knew they would leave the door open. Lee had implemented that order when Janet was being harassed by a visitor during a previous mission.

"I've got the duty rosters for you," Chip said to Janet handing her the folder, "and quite a few reports to type up that I finished before we left work yesterday."

"No problem," Janet replied taking the folder and quickly looking over the reports. It was nothing she hadn't done before. Chip noticed she was a little quieter than usual.

"Everything alright? Lee said you had a headache again. Maybe you should have Jamie look you over," Chip said with concern.

Janet didn't know Paul had told Chip she had a headache so she was a little surprised and caught off guard.

"It's nothing. You know P...Lee makes a big deal out of nothing."

"If it gets too bad, go see Jamie and that's an order," Chip smiled.

"Yes sir," Janet replied grinning back. "Chip, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure, is there a problem…everything okay between you and Lee…you both seem out of sorts," Chip commented.

Janet pushed her chair back and went over to the door to shut it. Before she got it closed, Adam showed up with her pitcher of water. The steward assigned to their cabins would always bring the admiral, Chip and Lee fresh pots of coffee and her a pitcher of water.

"Pardon me, Mr. Morton, Mrs. Crane, I didn't realize you were having a meeting. I just wanted to drop off Mrs. Crane's pitcher of water," Adam said sheepishly while glaring at Janet. Chip had his back to Adam looking at some papers on the desk and couldn't see the look on his face.

"Thank you," Janet stammered. She didn't know if he heard her tell Chip she wanted to talk to him but thought quickly and said, "Chip, I was wondering if you had any ideas on what to buy the admiral for his birthday next month?" Adam walked over to the table, left the pitcher on the table and left the cabin still glaring at Janet.

Chip turned around to face her, "No, I hadn't given it a thought since it's still a few weeks away."

"You know he's very hard to buy for."

Rubbing his forehead, he replied, "Yes he is. I'll give it some thought. Do you need me to go over any of these reports before you work on them? And before I forget, Lee said he would meet you in the wardroom at 1300 hours for lunch."

"No Chip, I'll figure it out. If I have any questions, I'll let you know. Thanks for letting me know about lunch. "I'll see you then."

Chip walked out of her cabin and down the hall to his while Adam was coming out of Lee's cabin. "I just put a fresh pot of coffee in your cabin, Mr. Morton."

"Thanks, Adam," Chip replied as he went down the passageway to his cabin. _Maybe Adam will work out after all,_ he thought as he opened the door and went in shutting the door after him.

Adam quickly ran down the hall back to Janet's cabin. "What were you really going to tell him…I'm going to let Paul know you almost spilled the beans…your husband will pay," Adam threatened.

Sighing, "I wasn't going to tell him about Paul. I don't want Lee to get hurt so why would I tell him," she answered in a huff.

"We'll just see about that," Adam replied walking back down the passageway and down the stairway to the wardroom.

((()))

Lee had been splayed on the deck of the yacht for several hours. He could feel his skin starting to burn as the hot sun beat down on him. He was thankful they let him keep his underwear on. He closed his eyes as the glare of the sun off the water was blinding him. He knew it would only get worse as the day grew hotter. He was starting to get a headache from the sun and lack of liquids. Even though his throat was parched, he managed to croak out, "Please give me some water. I won't do you any good dead."

Howie, Arnie and Danny came up on the deck. They could see Lee's skin turning a bright red as the sun beat down on him. "Get him some water," Arnie told Danny who went to the hose and filled a bucket with cold water and handed it to Arnie.

"Here's your water, Commander," he said as he tossed the bucket over Lee.

He passed out as the cold water hit his hot burned skin. Laughing the three men returned to the cool confines of the salon on the main deck.

((()))

Janet had been working in her office and noticed it was almost 1300 hours. She really wasn't hungry but knew she had better meet Paul before he got suspicious as to why she wasn't there. She made her way down to the wardroom where Chip and Paul were just walking in. Paul waited for her to join them giving her hand a gentle squeeze just like Lee would do when he saw her. Janet left her hand limp as a dead fish not returning his squeeze. The three of them sat down at the table with Janet in between Lee and Chip. Before long the admiral and Jamie joined them as Cookie brought over steaming bowls of stew and salad. He placed a bowl of stew in front of Janet who shook her head no. "Only salad please," she told Cookie.

Paul put his hand under the table and tapped her leg quite hard. She didn't cry out but looked at Paul, "I'm not that hungry."

Cookie put the salad in front of her and served the rest of the men their stew. Jamie, the admiral and Chip looked at her but didn't say anything as she sometimes only had a salad for lunch.

As Chip dunked his bread in his stew he asked, "Janet, how's your headache? Has it gotten any worse?"

"Headache?" Jamie asked with concern.

Paul spoke up, "She had a headache yesterday and again this morning."

Jamie looked at Janet, "No it's gone," she replied abruptly.

Jamie continued to stare at her looking for more information.

"I had one yesterday because I was out in the sun too long during our trip to Catalina. This morning's went away a few hours ago."

"If it comes back, come and see me," Jamie ordered her.

"Yes sir," she replied taking a bite of her salad.

When they finished up lunch, Paul and Chip would head back to the control room, while the admiral returned to his cabin, Jamie to sick bay and Janet to her office.

((()))

It was late afternoon when Janet finished up all the reports Chip had given her. She went to his cabin and put them on his desk. She stopped in her cabin to get the work she needed to finish from yesterday. When she entered the cabin, she found Paul sitting at Lee's desk. She quickly turned tail to leave but he got up and grabbed her arm before she could get out the door.

"What the hell was that at lunch," he demanded.

"I don't always eat a big lunch. I guess you should know that seeing that you've supposedly watched everything we did," she answered sharply. "Now let go of me so I can finish up my work." She pulled her arm away from his hand, slammed the door to the cabin shut and returned to her office. She knew he couldn't make or get any phones calls because they were submerged and the SAT phones only worked on the surface so she knew he couldn't show her what they were doing to Lee. She had to find a way to let Chip know Paul wasn't 'Lee'.

It was 1700 hours when Paul and Chip left the control room for dinner. Mr. O'Brien would take over until Taper would relieve him. The two men made their way up the spiral staircase and to their cabins.

"I'll see you in the wardroom at 1800 hours," Chip told Paul as he went into his cabin.

"Okay," Paul replied. He walked down to Janet's office only to find it empty. He quickly returned to his cabin where he found her drying her hair. She had already taken a shower.

"Damn, I was hoping to watch you take a shower," Paul said disappointedly.

"Never in a million years,"Janet hissed as she finished getting ready for dinner. She left the cabin with Paul following her to the wardroom.

They ate dinner with Chip and Jamie. The admiral had eaten earlier as he needed to make a few calls. They all retired to their quarters except Paul who would do 'Lee's' walk-around the boat. When he returned to the cabin, he found Janet asleep in the chair wrapped in a blanket. He snickered as he got undressed and climbed into the bunk. _You're no fun,_ he thought, _but don't worry you'll have to sleep with me eventually._

((()))

Lee came to on the deck of the yacht shivering. He was hot and cold at the same time. It was starting to get dark and he was wondering if they would leave him up there all night. He didn't have to wonder long when he heard the three men walking up the stairs to the upper deck.

"I see you're awake," Arnie said when he kicked Lee's foot and he moved it. "Untie him and take him back to the storage room. Give him some dinner. Make sure he doesn't try and escape or the two of you are going over the side." Arnie was video taping Lee as he laid on the deck and when he tried to stand up. Mr. Gallagher would have some very interesting video to show Mrs. Crane.

Danny and Howie untied Lee who could hardly stand after being tied up. They zip tied his hands in front of him again. He had a hard time walking so the two men were dragging him down the stairs. They opened the door to the storage room and pushed him in. There was a tray of food and water already on the floor for him. He made his way over to the bottle of water and guzzled it down. He lay on the cool floor in the warm storage room. Even though the room was warm it was still better than being outside. He tried to stand but was dizzy so he sat down and crawled over to the mattress. He laid there for awhile before checking out the damage to his body. The tops of his feet, his legs, and chest area were already starting to blister. His arms were very red but weren't blistering. His face was smarting but he didn't think it would blister. He slowly sat up and waited for the room to stop spinning. He pulled the tray of food over to him and ate it. He took the other bottle of water and slowly drank it leaving a little for later on. He laid back down on the mattress and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Janet woke up the next morning very stiff. Paul was already up and showered. He was staring at her as she worked the kinks out of her body.

"You could have slept in the bunk. I wouldn't have tried anything," Paul smirked.

"Not on your life," Janet snapped. "Please leave, I'll meet you in the wardroom in a few minutes."

"Janet, my dear, you better get use to me being your husband as Lee is never coming back. I'm now your husband," he said matter-of-factly.

"I'll never accept you as my husband. I'll divorce you," Janet replied quickly.

Paul walked over to Janet, grabbed both her arms tightly and sneered, "No way in hell will I let you leave me to spoil my life as Lee Crane. I'll kill you first." He let go of her arms and pushed her away.

Rubbing her arms, Janet looked into Paul's face and knew he meant every word he said.

"Now get ready for breakfast," he told her sharply. "You better be in the wardroom in fifteen minutes. If I have to come and get you, Lee will pay dearly." Paul walked out of the cabin and waited by the door.

Shaking Janet went over to the door, opened it and saw him waiting for her. He gave her an evil grin and pointed to his watch. She quickly shut the door. _I have to find a way to let someone know what's going on,_ she thought desperately as she quickly got ready for the day. She was ready to go ten minutes after Paul and they walked to the wardroom together.

((()))

Janet spent the rest of the day in her office. When she did leave, Adam or Paul was always nearby. It was late afternoon when she decided to take a break so she went to her cabin to grab her book. As she approached the door she saw is wasn't closed all the way and could hear voices talking and recognized them as Paul's and Adam's.

"Good work keeping an eye on Janet," Paul said.

"No problem sir," Adam replied. "I think you've got her spooked. She's afraid to talk to anyone."

"Well she should be. Now here's the plan. I've already alerted Arnie to have our men in position on the island when _Seaview_ docks in two days. Our men will be the 'welcoming' committee. They will take all of the crew and put them in the living quarters and take _Seaview_ along with Crane to the PR. This way I will clear my name with the superior and give him a bonus of the _Seaview._ Once we have left the island, we'll let the crew of the _Seaview_ go after we destroy the radios and any other communication devices they may have.

"How are you going to get hundred and twenty-five men off the boat without one of them attempting to stop us?"

"I've got that covered. I'm going to hold the admiral, Chip and Janet hostage threatening to shoot each one of them if the crew doesn't leave the boat in an orderly manner," Paul said smugly. "The crew is very loyal to them and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their lives."

Adam shook his head agreeing with him and then asked, "Are you going back to the PR with _Seaview?_ "

"Yes, once the crew and officers are locked up, I'll pilot the submarine back. I'll present it and Crane to my superior. When I've finished, Mrs. Crane and I will return to the island so we can be rescued with the rest of the men. One more item, if for some reason, I don't return to the island after two days, kill all of them."

"Yes sir. What would you like me to do until we get to the island?"

"I'll need you to keep Mrs. Crane in check. She's proving to be as wily as her husband."

"Yes sir. I better get back to the laundry before I'm missed," Adam replied as made his way to the door. He noticed the door was not closed. "Sir, the door wasn't closed all the way. Do you think anyone heard us?"

"How could you be so stupid not to close the door," Paul said angrily. He walked over to the door and looked in the passageway and didn't see anyone. "I know Chip would be in the control room and the admiral was in his lab so I don't think we were heard and Janet should be in her office but next time make sure you shut the door."

"Yes sir," Adam answered seeing the anger in Paul's eyes. After working with both the real Lee and Paul the only difference he noticed was Paul's temper. He could get mad at the drop of a hat.

Janet heard the conversation wrapping up and quickly returned to her office. She was entering the inventory when Paul walked in to check on her.

"I see you're still here working."

"Where else would I be," Janet answered sarcastically. "I can't go anywhere without you or Adam on my tail."

"We'll have dinner at 1800 hours. I'll come and get you so be ready."

"I'll be ready," Janet replied rolling her eyes and returned to work.

Paul had all he could do to keep from slapping her. She was really starting to try his patience. He left her alone and returned to the control room.

((()))

Janet got up from her desk as soon as Paul left and watched him walk down the passageway to the staircase. She knew he was going to the control room. She went into her cabin and removed the gun from the jacket pocket and put it under the mattress. She was going to have to take drastic action to prevent _Seaview_ and Lee from being taken away. She would wait until Paul returned from his walk-around the boat to implement her plan.

((()))

Paul came for her at 1800 hours and they left for dinner. The admiral decided to have dinner in the nose that night. He let her go down the spiral staircase first. Chip, Jamie and the admiral were already enjoying a glass of wine before dinner when they showed up. Chip poured each of them a glass. Jamie walked over to Janet who was just sipping her wine and noticed her hand was shaking slightly.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked as she stood there staring out the windows in the admiral's 'front porch'.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied turning to look at Jamie. But as she turned to face him, Paul walked over to them.

"Problem Jamie," he asked as he stood next to Janet and took her hand. She had no choice but to let him hold on to it.

"No just making sure, Janet was feeling all right."

"Sweetheart, you're okay, right," Paul said with obvious concern just like Lee would.

"Yes," Janet answered softly. _He sure has Lee down pat,_ she thought. _No wonder no one can tell it's not really him._

Cookie announced dinner was ready so they made their way over to the table. Paul waited for Janet to sit down before he took his seat not sure where Lee would sit but assumed he would sit next to her. They enjoyed Cookie's delicious dinner and sat there drinking coffee and eating brownies talking about Cole Island. Paul, Chip and the admiral had decided to give the crew shore leave. There wasn't too much to do on the island as most of the people there worked at the laboratory but there was a nice beach and trails for hiking. Cookie would be able to get some fresh fruit and vegetables as the people who worked there grew their own produce. The men at the laboratory were looking forward to _Seaview's_ visit as it had been a long time since they had visitors so they had planned a huge picnic for the crew. Cookie had already been informed of this and was going to help them with the food. He had stocked up on extra hamburgers, hot dogs and the fixing that go with them.

It was getting late, so Jamie and the admiral excused themselves and made their way to their quarters. Chip and Paul would check out the control room before retiring. Once Paul checked on the control room, he would do his walk-around so Janet would return to their cabin. She waited in the observation nose for Paul to leave before she made her way up the staircase. Chip followed her up and said good night when he arrived at his cabin door. Before Janet could say anything to him, Adam appeared from the opposite end of the passageway.

"Mr. Morton do you need anything before you retire?" Adam asked cheerfully.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Chip responded as Adam turned to Janet.

"Mrs. Crane do you need anything?"

"No thank you," Janet answered softly and continued on to the cabin.

Adam watched as she entered the cabin and shut the door. He would wait across the passageway out of sight from the rest of the cabins except the captain's as the door to his cabin was around the corner. Once Paul returned he could retire for the night.

((()))

Janet paced up and down in the cabin. She didn't want to shoot Paul but that was the only way she knew how to stop him. She heard him at the door saying goodnight to Adam. She reached under the mattress and took the gun out hiding it behind her back. Paul entered the cabin, undid his tie, the top button of his shirt and unbuttoned his sleeves. He noticed Janet was dressed in sweatpants and shirt just like the night before.

"Sleeping in the chair again tonight?" he asked chuckling as he sat down and removed his shoes. He placed them under the chair just like Lee did.

"How did you know Lee put his shoes under that chair," Janet questioned afraid of what his answer would be.

"I placed cameras all around the boat so I could watch what and how Lee acted. I even put one in here so I could watch the two of you," he said maliciously. "You're both very passionate."

Janet paled at what he just told her as she realized he watched them make love. She took the gun from behind her back and pointed at Paul.

"Give me the gun," Paul said calmly. " **You** don't want to hurt me because if I don't make it to the island Lee will be killed."

Janet squeezed the trigger as Paul lunged at her and sent the shot into the door. He grabbed the gun out of her hand and went over to the mic. "Master-at-Arms, report to the captain's quarters immediately."

"Aye, aye sir," the MAA responded as soon as Paul shipped the mic.

Hearing the gunshot, the admiral and Chip ran down the passageway to the Crane's cabin. Paul stood there with the gun in his hand as Janet sat on the bunk sobbing.

"What's going on here?" the admiral asked seeing the gun.

"Janet tried to shoot me," Paul answered running his hand through his hair. "I don't know what came over her. She just snapped."

The MAA arrived at the cabin door just as Paul was telling the admiral and Chip what happened. "Take Mrs. Crane to the brig and lock her up. I don't want **anyone** to come in contact with her except me. Is that understood," he ordered. "Wait there until I come down."

"Yes sir," the MAA replied as he gently reached for Janet's arm but Chip stopped him from taking her.

"Lee, you can't be serious," Chip exclaimed horrified. "She's your wife...take her to sick bay...let Jamie look her over."

"She may try again to shoot someone and I don't want to take that chance," Paul responded vehemently.

"Lee," the admiral said quietly, "maybe you should reconsider and let her go to sick bay."

"No, take her away," Paul told the MAA.

The MAA took Janet's arm and led her to the brig. "I'm sorry Mrs. Crane," he told her as he unlocked the door and walked her in. He locked the door and stood outside waiting for Paul to come down.

"Its okay, Terry," Janet said softly tears running down her face. "I know you're only following orders." She had failed to stop Paul and now was afraid of what he would do to Lee.

Chip and the admiral were returning to their cabins when Paul grabbed Chip's arm, "I know you're both concerned about Janet but I just want to make sure she doesn't try it again. Let her cool off and then I'll let Jamie look at her."

"Okay, Lee," Chip answered still stunned that Janet would try and shoot him. _Something isn't right with them but I can't figure it out_ , he thought as he walked back to his cabin.

Paul sat down and put his shoes back on. _Damn,_ he thought. _She's going to blow this whole operation._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Janet sat down on the bunk and waited for Paul to come to the brig. She didn't have to wait too long before he showed up and sent the MAA away.

"That was sure a stupid stunt," Paul said as he stood outside the entrance to the brig. "But you did make my job easier because now I don't have to worry about you talking to anyone. I've convinced them you're a danger to everyone on board. Now as far as Lee is concerned, he'll pay dearly for your stunt."

"Please don't hurt him," Janet begged. "Please."

Paul turned around and walked away with a grin on his face. He ran into Jamie on his way back to his cabin. The admiral called him when he got back to his cabin and asked him to talk to Lee.

"Lee, let me talk to her. There must be something wrong, let me check her out."

"No, she'll be fine in there and Jamie I'm ordering you not to come in contact with her. There's no medical issue so you can't countermand my orders. Just a disagreement between a married couple."

"Lee," Jamie pleaded but Paul walked away and left Jamie standing in the middle of the passageway wondering what was wrong with him.

((()))

Paul returned to the cabin, got undressed and slid into the bunk. He needed to find out how far from the yacht was from the island, make sure the men were in place and get an update on Crane. He needed a reason to surface the boat. As he laid there he thought, _I'll have Adam start a fire in the galley, they would have to surface so they could scrub the boat of smoke._ He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Janet laid down on the bunk and noticed the lights dim in the passageway to simulate nighttime. _At least I don't have to sleep in the chair_ , she thought. But she was worried about Lee and what Paul would do to him. She fell asleep her eyes wet with tears.

((()))

Lee woke the next morning and could feel the heat radiating off his burnt body. He still had a headache, was nauseated and when he tried to stand up he almost passed out. He slowly sat back down on the mattress waiting for the dizziness to subside. He reached under the mattress for the bottle of water but it was empty. As he sat there, he heard the lock disengage on the door. Arnie and Howie were there with his breakfast of oatmeal, coffee and water.

"You sure are burnt," Arnie said to Lee as he looked him over.

"Too bad it's cloudy today or you could've gotten burnt on the back. It looks like a storm is brewing," Howie grinned.

"Can I please take a shower?" Lee asked knowing the cool water would feel good on his skin.

"Sure, why not," Arnie said as Lee slowly stood up and gathered his clothes as he never bothered to put them on the night before. He hid the extra water bottle in his shirt so he could fill it with water. The two men walked Lee to the small bathroom. He let the cool water from the shower cascade down his body. He had been in there a while when he heard pounding on the door.

"What the hell is taking you so long," Arnie yelled.

"I'll be right out," Lee replied as he slowly eased his dirty clothes over his burnt skin. He filled the bottle with water and hid it under his shirt. He walked back to the room and heard the door lock. Lee didn't eat the oatmeal but drank the coffee and water. He put the extra bottle under the mattress again. As he sat on the mattress, he could feel the boat starting to rock more than before. The storm Howie mentioned must be upon them. Lee laid down on the mattress and wondered how Janet was fairing with Paul. _If he tries anything with her, he_ _ **will**_ _be sorry_ , Lee thought. He was glad he was in the bottom of the yacht and not on top during the storm.

((()))

Paul awoke the next morning and looked at the door with the bullet hole. He was surprised at how calm Janet was handling the gun. If he hadn't lunged at her, she would have shot him. He showered, dressed and went down to the brig to check on her. She was curled up next to the bulkhead covered by the blanket and looked pretty harmless but he didn't trust her at all. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly as she sat up.

"Just checking to see how you are. After all you're a danger to everyone," he smirked. "I'll have Adam bring you some breakfast."

"Whatever you want," she replied. "Can I get out to take a shower?"

"Maybe later when I can escort you to the cabin. Don't worry _sweetie_ you're not going to do anything to get sweaty so if you don't get a shower today, you can take one tomorrow," he quipped and walked away heading for the wardroom for breakfast. He knew he was going to have to face the admiral, Chip and Jamie regarding Janet.

Janet rested her back against the front of the bunk. _Damn_ , she thought, _there goes my escape plan._

((()))

When Paul arrived in the wardroom the only person in there was Adam who was putting out the coffee urn and cups. "Meet me at the brig in fifteen minutes and have a breakfast tray for Janet. I'll let you in and I need to talk to you."

"Yes sir," he replied loudly when Cookie came into the wardroom from the crew's mess.

"Sir would you like breakfast now or wait for the admiral and Chip and dine with them," Cookie asked briskly.

The whole boat had heard what took place in the captain's cabin last night and wondered why he locked Janet up in the brig instead of letting her go to sick bay. None of the crew would question what he had done but they sure didn't like it.

"Yes, I'll eat now. Please have a tray made up for Janet and have Adam take it down to her," he told Cookie.

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it right away," Cookie replied as he handed Paul a plate of french toast and sausages.

Paul took the plate and set it down on the table and returned to the coffee urn and poured a cup of coffee. He had just sat down to eat when Chip came in. He went to the sideboard and put some French toast and sausages on his plate along with a cup of coffee and sat down next to Lee.

"How is Janet this morning?" he asked as he took a sip of coffee.

"She seemed fine but still looked a little agitated when I saw her a few minutes ago."

"Lee, please let Jamie check her out. There has to be a reason why she 'snapped' as you said."

Rubbing his hand on his forehead Paul said, "Chip please let me handle this my way. You know Jamie can't give her anything as she has a bad reaction to drugs. I'm afraid she'll hurt someone else and I couldn't live with myself if she did. But thanks for your concern."

Discouraged, Chip replied, "Okay Lee, have it your way."

Paul finished his breakfast and saw Adam was waiting with Janet's tray. "I'll be in the control room shortly," he said to Chip, "I just want to make sure Janet gets her breakfast." Chip nodded and continued to eat his breakfast which suddenly didn't taste very good. He took his plate, scraped what he didn't eat into the garbage, and put the dishes in the bin and left the wardroom for the control room. Just as he was leaving the admiral and Jamie walked in.

"Where's Lee?" the admiral asked not seeing him.

"Bringing Janet her breakfast," Chip answered. "Don't ask him about it, he won't let her out."

The admiral and Jamie looked at Chip, shook their heads and got some breakfast.

((()))

Paul and Adam made their way down to the brig. Paul unlocked the door and Adam set the tray down on the small table next to the bunk. "I'll be back to take the tray," Adam said to Janet as he left.

"I'll stop by later to check on you," Paul told Janet as he locked the door. She just looked at him and didn't say a word. As they walked away Janet heard Paul tell Adam he needed his help.

"I need to contact the yacht and make sure the men are on Cole Island when we get there. I can't just surface the boat with no reason so I want you to start a fire in the galley. This way we'll have to surface to scrub the boat of smoke. I'll make up an excuse to go topside and call the yacht. Do you think you can handle it?"

"No problem," Adam said grinning. "Cookie was going to let me make the rolls for dinner but guess we'll have to do without them. I won't be able to take care of this until early this afternoon. I still have to straighten up the cabins and put fresh coffee in the cabins as well as help out in the laundry."

"This afternoon will be fine. Here's the key to the brig so you can bring her lunch and dinner. Also don't leave or give her anything. She'll find some way to use whatever you leave to bust open this operation. I can't believe she almost shot me," Paul lamented.

"You were lucky. I heard the captain's been taking her shooting so she knows how to handle a gun."

"She's really starting to bug me. I just may have to do something about it as she's actually getting in the way. I better get up to the control room before Chip sends out a search party. I can't wait for this to be over," Paul said seriously.

((()))

Adam returned to the wardroom to clean it up after the breakfast crowd and Paul went to the control room. The morning passed quickly. Adam returned to pick up Janet's tray and noticed none of the food had been eaten.

He knew Paul would be mad but would wait to say something until after lunch. When Adam returned to the wardroom with Janet's tray, Cookie looked it over and saw none of the food had been touched. He had orders from Jamie to let him know anytime she didn't eat her meals. He would wait to see if she ate lunch before reporting it to Jamie.

"Adam," Cookie said, "Get a move on, we need to bake the rolls for dinner."

"Yes sir," he replied and quickly finished setting up the wardroom for lunch. Cookie prepared a lunch tray for Janet. It had her favorite soup and a sandwich with a cup of tea. When Adam arrived at the brig, he noticed she was sitting on the bunk staring at the door. He unlocked the door and put the tray on the table.

"Please let me out," Janet begged.

"Not a chance," Adam replied as he locked the door and walked back to the wardroom.

Janet looked at the tray of food. She was hungry but knew if she didn't eat again, Cookie would come down to find out why. He would then report to Jamie that she wasn't eating. _Hopefully Jamie would make Paul release her to sick bay_ , she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The lunch crowd had cleared out of the crew's mess and wardroom. Cookie and Adam were in the galley getting the rolls ready to be baked. Cookie had turned on the oven and placed in the first sheet of rolls. The two men continued placing the rolls on the rest of the baking sheets. The timer rang for the first batch of rolls so Adam put in another set of sheets.

"I need to go to stores to get flour, sugar and check out what we have on hand for the picnic. I'll be back by the time the rolls are finished baking," Cookie told Adam. When Cookie left the galley, Adam went over to the oven and turned it up to 500 degrees. He knew the rolls would start to burn and fill the galley and crew's mess with smoke. He purposely left the galley and went to the wardroom to starting setting up for dinner.

Paul had just left the control room on his way to the reactor room when he saw the smoke billowing out of the crew's mess. He quickly ran in to make sure no one was in there. When he didn't find anyone, he ran over to the nearest mic while pressing the button sounding the klaxon.

"Mr. Morton, surface the boat," he said. "There smoke in the crew's mess and it's filling the passageways."

"Yes sir," Chip responded telling maneuvering to surface. "Turn up the blowers up to full power so we can scrub the boat of smoke."

"Aye, aye sir," they responded as _Seaview_ quickly made her way to the surface.

Paul went back into the mess and turned off the oven. He was coughing from inhaling the smoke as he left the mess. He stopped to catch his breath before he returned to the control room. As soon as _Seaview_ broached the surface, they cracked the hatch and Paul went up the ladder followed by Chip.

Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, Paul finally stopped coughing.

"Lee, you better have Jamie check you out," Chip insisted.

"No I'm fine," he answered his breathing returning to normal. "Check with damage control and see if you can find out what happened in there. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Chip went back down the ladder just as the admiral was coming down the spiral staircase.

"What's going on?" he asked quickly.

"Something was burning in the crew's mess. Lee saw smoke and ordered us to surface. We're scrubbing the boat now. I'm going to check and see just what happened in there. Lee's up in the sail. He took in quite a bit of smoke but insists he's fine," Chip reported as he left the control room and headed for the mess.

The admiral climbed up the ladder just as Paul was going to make his phone call but he quickly put the phone away before the admiral saw it.

"You okay, Lee," he asked with concern when he saw Paul leaning against the combing on the sail.

"Yes sir. I'm fine," he replied with a slight grin. "Just inhaled a little too much smoke but I'm okay now."

"What the hell happened?"

"I was walking to the reactor room when I saw the smoke coming from the mess hall. I've got Chip checking it out. As soon as I find out I'll let you know."

The admiral turned to go down the ladder, "You coming down?"

"In a minute, admiral, just need a few more minutes of air."

"Okay son," the admiral answered, went down the ladder and back to his cabin.

Paul looked down the hatch to see if anyone was coming up. He quickly dialed up the yacht and Arnie answered the phone.

"Yes Mr. Gallagher."

"Everything on schedule?" he asked. "We should be arriving the day after tomorrow."

"Yes sir. The boat will be there with the men tomorrow. They will take over the island as soon as they go ashore. We should be there late tomorrow afternoon. We're in a pretty bad storm right now, so we have to slow down."

"What about Crane? Has he given you anymore trouble?"

"Yes, he tried to escape but we stopped him and tied him to the deck for the day. He's got a real nice suntan, if you know what I mean. I'll send you a video of what he look's like."

Paul waited a few minutes for the video to arrive and smiled when he saw it. "Thanks, this might help keep his wife in line. She's turning out to be a pain in the ass."

Laughing Arnie replied, "I know what you mean. Everything will be ready when you arrive."

Paul heard someone coming up the ladder, "End transmission," he said quickly disconnecting the call and putting the phone in his pocket. He turned to look out over the ocean pretending to be in deep thought.

Chip joined Paul on the bridge and reported, "Adam accidentally turned up the oven temperature when he was cleaning up. He left to set up the wardroom and didn't realize it until he heard you on the mic."

"How's Cookie taking it," Paul asked cautiously.

"Not to good as you'd expect. He's really pissed at Adam's carelessness that could have turned into a disaster. Plus we won't have rolls with dinner tonight."

Giving Chip a slight grin, "I can just imagine the earful Cookie gave to Adam. I'll have a talk with him later too."

"Lee, you sure you're okay?" Chip wondered noticing Paul never turned to look at him when he was talking.

"Just worried about Janet and what I should do about her," he lied, "Does she seem okay to you...out of sorts...not herself? She's been acting a little strange the last few days even before we left on the mission."

"She seems fine to me but I haven't been around much lately," Chip confessed.

"I think the job maybe getting to her. Too much work at the institute...on _Seaview_...my ONI missions. I don't know," Paul said as he ran his hand through his hair a sure sign he was worried as he continued to look out over the ocean.

"You know her better than anyone, maybe she needs to get away from it all."

"Maybe," Paul said softly with an evil smile. His plan was working making Janet seem like she was losing it.

"Have Jamie talk to her and look her over," Chip suggested. "He'll find out if something's wrong."

"When we finish this mission, I'll have him check her out but right now I think its best she stays where she is," Paul replied cold heartedly. "I know you don't like it but I'm afraid she'll try to hurt me again or someone else."

"I guess you know what's best for her."

"Let's get below. Dive the boat and resume course and speed," Paul told Chip as he went down the ladder followed by Chip who ordered maneuvering to dive the boat as soon as he reached the bottom of the ladder.

Paul stood at the plotting table tapping his pencil just like Lee did when he was worried. _I sure have them fooled_ , he thought. Paul decided to go visit Janet and show her the video of her very sunburned husband.

"Chip, take over the conn," Paul said to Chip throwing the pencil on the table. "I'm going to see how Janet is doing."

"Sure Lee," Chip replied and watched him leave the control room. He returned to the plotting table looking at where they were and the progress they were making.

((()))

Janet heard the klaxon and knew something was very wrong. She could feel _Seaview_ surfacing very quickly and that usually meant there was a fire on board. She was worried that someone may have been hurt too. Adam came by to take her tray and noticed she hadn't eaten anything again.

"Why did the klaxon sound?" she asked Adam worriedly.

"Paul will tell you if he wants you to know. I see you didn't eat again. Paul's not going to like it."

"I don't really care," Janet snapped.

Paul met Adam just as he left the brig and was heading back to the mess. "Good job burning the rolls. I told Morton I would talk to you so consider this our talk if you're asked. I was able to contact the yacht and everything will be in place by the time we get to the island," Paul told Adam as he noticed the full tray of food.

"She didn't eat lunch?"

"No and no breakfast either. She wanted to know why the klaxon went off but I didn't tell her."

"Don't worry I'll tell her and find out what she's up too," Paul said unhappily.

Adam returned to the galley with Janet's tray of uneaten food. Cookie noticed nothing had been eaten. _She didn't eat breakfast and now lunch. Look's like I'm going to have to pay her a visit, captain's orders or no orders. I have my orders too_ ," Cookie thought.

((()))

Janet was sitting on the bunk when Paul came over to her. He opened the door to the brig and stood just inside the door.

"Adam tells me you want to know why the klaxon sounded. There was an accident in the galley. The rolls were burning and there was a lot of smoke."

Janet could smell the smoke on his clothes. "I suppose you went in to turn off the oven that you probably told Adam to turn up," she said shaking her head. "Somebody could have been hurt by that stunt."

Paul had to smile at her perception. "Yes you're right. I needed to make a phone call and that was the only way I could do it. And I really don't care if anyone gets hurt, my dear. Speaking of phone calls, maybe you would like to see some pictures of Lee?" he asked as he showed her the video of him being tied to the deck, laying out there all day and then passing out when they dumped the cold water on him. Paul looked at the horror on Janet's face seeing her sunburned husband. "He looks a little overdone, don't you think," Paul said smugly. Janet went to slap his face but he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back causing her to cry out. "Don't you ever try and hit me again or I'll smack you across the room," he told her hatefully letting her arm go.

"You're an evil man," Janet hissed holding back her tears.

Smirking, "Adam tells me you haven't eaten any breakfast or lunch."

"Not hungry," she replied but changed the subject quickly. "While you're holding me prisoner, can I do some work?"

"No, you might have to talk to Chip or the admiral and we can't have that. Besides, Chip thinks you're losing your mind thanks to my talk with him so don't worry about work."

"Chip won't believe a word you say," Janet insisted.

"Don't be so sure of that, _sweetheart._ You better eat dinner or you'll be sorry or should I say Lee will be sorry."

Paul shut the door on the brig and walked down the passageway to the wardroom smiling all the way.

"Damn," Janet said out loud. _I've got to find someway to get help_ , she thought as the tears she was holding back ran down her face. She went back and sat down on the bunk placing her face in her hands as she rested her elbows on her knees.

((()))

Before the dinner crowd arrived in the wardroom and crew's mess, Cookie made up Janet's dinner tray with a cup of hot tea. When Adam took it down to her, he was going to accompany him and find out why she wasn't eating. As Adam left the galley, he saw Cookie waiting by the door.

"Let's go," Cookie told Adam as he held the tray.

Adam looked at Cookie surprised that he was going with him to see Janet. "The Captain's ordered no one to see her but him or me."

Right now Cookie was not too happy with Adam after what took place in the galley earlier, looked at Adam who had the nerve to question what he was doing and said sharply, "Well I have orders too and mine **will** countermand the Captain's."

"Yes sir," Adam replied softly and headed down to the brig with Cookie following him.

When Cookie and Adam arrived at the brig, Janet was sitting on the bunk with her knees bent and rested her chin on them. She was happy to Cookie as she realized he was going to help her but also knew she was going to get yelled at for not eating.

"I noticed you didn't breakfast or lunch," Cookie said sternly.

"Sorry Cookie, I'm just not hungry," she answered back.

"You know I have my orders and I'm going to follow them if you don't eat dinner."

"Yes sir," Janet replied with a sigh.

Adam opened the brig door and just as he went to put the food down on the table, Janet 'accidentally' knocked into him when she got up from the bunk and hit the tray sending the food all over the floor.

"I'm sorry, Adam," Janet said with a wry grin.

"Adam, get this mess cleaned up," Cookie told Adam.

Adam hesitated for a few seconds before leaving. "And what are you waiting for?" Cookie shouted.

"Yes, sir," Adam said as he went to a storage closet a couple of doors down from the brig. He stood there and listened to see if Janet talked to Cookie. Unless they were whispering he didn't hear her say anything.

Janet pointed to the marker in Cookie's pocket. Cookie never went anywhere with out a marker. Looking confused he handed it to her. She took the napkin that was on the table leftover from lunch and wrote on it. _Tell only Chip that Lee is a fake...double...Adam working with him._ She quickly gave him the napkin but kept the marker hiding it under the pillow on the bunk as Adam returned with a mop and bucket. Cookie put the napkin in his pocket and waited while Adam cleaned up the mess.

"Sorry Janet," Cookie said, "I'll have Adam bring you another tray and you'd better eat it."

"Yes Cookie," she replied as Adam locked the door on the brig and the two men returned to the wardroom.

Smiling as they walked away, she knew Cookie would read the napkin and give it to Chip. Adam returned a few minutes later with a new tray of food. He opened the door and put it on the table with no problems this time.

"What did Cookie mean when he said he has his orders?"

"Talk to Cookie if you want to know," Janet replied snidely as she took her fork and dug into her dinner.

Adam answered her back, "I'll just tell Paul and Cookie will have to tell him."

"Be my guest," she said taking a sip of her tea. She really was too nervous to eat. She knew Chip couldn't come down to talk her so she would have to write another note and send it through Cookie. She took the marker from under the pillow and clipped to the inside of her sweatpants. They were only a day away from docking on Cole Island. She had to let Chip know that _Seaview_ was going to be taken over.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you to everyone who's reading this story. A special thank you to those who have written a review, I appreciate it very much. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story._

Chapter 9

Lee could feel the yacht rocking and knew they must be in a bad storm. His sunburn was still radiating heat and his arms felt the skin was being pulled off of them. He still had a headache but wasn't as nauseated as before. He finished all of his water and knew he wouldn't get any more until lunch so he choked down the oatmeal. When he was finished he laid down on the mattress trying to get comfortable. He fell asleep but was awakened when he heard the door being unlocked and noticed the yacht had stopped rocking.

Howie stood there with Danny and Arnie grinning, "Crane, today is your lucky day. The storm's over and you get to finish your tan. We wouldn't want you to have any tan lines," Danny said sarcastically as he grabbed Lee by the arm and dragged him up stairs to the upper deck where he removed his t-shirt and shorts. Howie pushed him down on his stomach spreading his arms and legs as he tied them down. As they stood there, Danny was taking a video of Lee laying in the hot sun and said to Howie, "Mr. Gallagher is going to have another great home movie to show Mrs. Crane." Lee could hardly control his temper but was in no position to do anything about it. The three men returned to the salon and checked out the refrigerator. They found what they wanted, nice cold bottles of beer.

The ocean was still rough from the storm as Lee laid on the hot deck and with every rock of the boat his chest rubbed on the wooden slats causing the blisters that had formed on his chest and thighs to break open oozing out their liquid. He turned his head sideways trying to get comfortable.

((()))

The admiral, Jamie, Paul and Chip were just finishing up dinner when Cookie returned to the wardroom to check on the officers. They noticed Cookie was not there when they arrived and wondered where he was as he was always in the wardroom when they ate.

Chip spoke up, "Everything okay Cookie? We were worried when we didn't see you in here."

"Yes sir. I just had to check on Mrs. Crane as she didn't eat breakfast or lunch."

Jamie looked up from his dinner. "She's not eating...I'm going down there when I'm finished."

"No need Dr. Jamieson, I told her she had better eat or else," Cookie smiled.

Paul frowned when he heard the conversation between Cookie and Jamie. He was about to say something but thought he better not when Jamie spoke up about going down see her. He was curious as to what the doctor had to do with her and eating. He still wasn't happy that Cookie had gone to see her and would find out about it later.

Cookie saw they had their dessert and coffee so he went back to the crew's mess and the galley to read what Janet wrote on the napkin. He stared at it after he read it and speculated on what it meant but would give it to Mr. Morton like she asked. Adam also returned to the wardroom after bringing Janet her dinner. He needed to talk to Paul about Cookie's 'orders'. He wondered if Paul knew what they were. He would wait to talk to Paul when he made his final check of the officer's cabins for the night.

Cookie was still in the galley when Chip stuck his head in the crew's mess looking for him. He wanted to ask Cookie about Janet. He also noticed that Lee wasn't too pleased when Cookie went to see Janet.

"Great dinner," Chip said to Cookie who looked up quickly not realizing Chip was there. "How was Janet...why is she not eating...does she need anything?" he asked with concern.

"No, she doesn't need anything except to be let out and she said she wasn't hungry," he replied looking at the napkin. "Mr. Morton, she gave me this to give to you," Cookie said giving Chip the napkin. "Do you know what it means?"

Chip read what was written on the napkin and looked at Cookie dumfounded. "No, I'm not sure but I'll look into it. Don't say anything to anybody about this. Make an excuse to get back down again but don't make it too obvious. Something's going on and I don't want to put her in danger."

"Yes sir. Her dinner tray is still down there so I'll go later and bring it back up."

Chip walked away and stopped at the door before leaving. "Thanks Cookie and bring some extra napkins."

"No problem, Mr. Morton," Cookie replied as Chip continued out the door and up to his cabin. He was off duty for the night and was going to catch up on the paperwork that Janet couldn't do while she was in the brig. As he arrived at his cabin he saw Adam leaving the admiral's with the dirty towels. Adam saw Chip enter his cabin and knocked on the door. "Do you need anything before retiring Mr. Morton?"

"No Adam, I'm fine," Chip replied as Adam took his dirty towels and left some clean ones.

"Good night sir," he said closing the door behind him.

Adam had one more cabin to check on that was Paul's. He went around the corner stopping to make sure no one was following him as he knew Chip and Lee would talk about the boat before retiring. Paul was just getting ready to do his walk-around when Adam knocked on the door.

"Come in," Paul said waiting at the door to see who was there. Adam entered the cabin and could tell Paul was pissed. "Why did you let that cook go with you...what happen down there...did she talk to him?" he questioned as he sat down at the desk.

"He said he had 'orders' and his orders countermanded yours. I had to leave them alone for a few minutes to clean up the mess she made when she knocked over her tray. I waited at the door and I didn't hear them talking. I asked her what Cookie's 'orders' were when I brought her a new tray of food but she told me to ask him. I know no one was supposed to see her, but I couldn't tell him no, he couldn't go. Besides that, he's not real happy with me right now and I don't want to get on his bad side if you know what I mean," Adam explained.

"Damn. You're sure they didn't talk?" Paul asked again and Adam shook his head yes. "I'll find out what 'orders' he's talking about. We're almost done only another twenty-four hours until we're free of this." Paul got up from the desk and would take his walk-around the boat making the galley his first stop of the night.

((()))

Chip opened his door slightly and watched Adam head for Lee's cabin. Once he saw him round the corner he went to the admiral's cabin and knocked on the door. "Come in," the admiral replied quickly not expecting anyone and was surprised to see Chip enter the cabin.

"Hi Chip what can I do for you?"

Chip took the napkin out of his pocket and laid it on the admiral's desk. He read what it said and looked up at Chip. "Where did you get this...what does it mean?"

Chip explained to the admiral how he came about the napkin and what Cookie had told him. Taking a deep breath the admiral said, "If this is true, we have to get more information from her but 'Lee' is very adamant about no one talking to her and now we know why. We could just call Lee or whoever he is out."

"No I'm afraid he'll take it out on Janet. He seems to have something over her and he's trying to make her look like she's crazy. Cookie's going to see if he can't get some more information. Let's wait and see what he finds out first."

"You're right Chip," the admiral admitted as he ran his hand through his hair. "We'll just have to be careful as to what we say and do from now on."

"I agree," Chip concurred as he stood up and went to the door. "Good night sir."

"Good night Chip," the admiral replied. When Chip left the cabin, the admiral opened the bottom drawer of his desk and took out a bottle of his favorite scotch and poured himself two fingers worth and swallowed it down in one gulp.

Chip returned to his cabin but was too worried about what was on the napkin. _Hopefully Cookie can get more information_ , he thought. He looked at the stack of paperwork on his desk and decided to tackle it to keep his mind busy.

((()))

Paul made his way to the galley hoping Cookie was still there but caught him as he was leaving. "Where are you going?" Paul asked, "I need to talk to you."

"I was just going down to the brig to get Janet's tray so I could clean it up and close the galley for the night. I forgot she still had it down there. Sorry sir," Cookie replied.

"I'll walk with you," Paul said as he went down the stairway with Cookie following him. "Dinner was exceptional good tonight," Paul commented as they walked down the passageway to the brig.

"Thank you, sir."

When they arrived at the brig Janet was sitting with her back against the bulkhead. She had eaten most of her dinner so Cookie smiled at her. She returned the smile but was upset that Paul was with him. Paul opened the door of the brig and Cookie removed the tray.

"Thank you," Janet said, "Dinner was good."

"You're welcome," he replied as Paul shut and locked the door. "Good night, Skipper, Mrs. C."

"Good night," they both replied and watched as Cookie walked down the passageway to the stairs. Paul followed him making sure he went up the stairs.

Paul returned to the brig and opened up the door. Janet had gotten up off the bunk and was facing him. "Whose 'orders' countermand mine?" he asked crossly. "And why didn't you tell me about them."

"I can't remember everything," she answered back tersely. "Ask Cookie if you want to know."

With that remark, Paul backhanded her across the face leaving a large red welt and scratch from Lee's ring. "I've just about had enough of you," he said as she rubbed her check.

"Okay Paul, you win," Janet replied contritely, "I've had enough too. What do you want me to do?"

Stunned at her about face, "Now that's more like it. I promise I'll make it up to you," he told Janet as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips his hand brushing against her breast. Janet cringed at his touch but didn't let him see it.

"Can I please take a shower?" Janet asked softly. "I need to change my clothes too."

"Okay, I'll let you shower and change while I do my walk-around. I still don't trust you so I'm going to lock you in the cabin."

The two of them went up the ladders and passageways to their cabin. Paul opened the door for Janet and let her go in first. He followed her in. "I'll do my walk around and when I come back we'll talk about what I want you to do," he told her squeezing her hand.

"Don't hurry on my account," she retorted.

"I'll be back soon," Paul replied as he rubbed her check where there was a large welt and scratch from where he hit her. "I hate this walk-around," he muttered under his breath as he left the cabin. Janet could hear him lock the door.

When Paul left Janet had all she could do to keep from throwing up. The thought of pretending to sleep with him was revolting but she would have to do it to carry out her plan and save not only Lee but _Seaview._ Before she took her shower, she checked out Lee's desk to see if the gun was still there. After going through all the drawers, she couldn't find it. She practically turned the cabin upside down trying to find the gun but still couldn't find it. _Damn_ , she thought. Going back to the desk drawer, the only thing she found was a twelve inch by three-inch-wide solid glass nameplate with Lee's name engraved on it. It also had a picture of him and Liddy taped on it. It was stashed in the back of the drawer so Lee probably forgot he put it there. _Oh well, it will have to do_ , she thought as she put it under the pillow.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Janet figured Paul would cut short his walk-around the boat. Lee normally took a couple of hours but Paul would only be gone an hour to make it look good. She quickly took a shower and had just toweled off and was putting on a pair of sweats when she heard Paul unlock the door. She quickly finished dressing before he walked in. He had only been gone about thirty minutes.

He walked into the cabin surprised to see her in the sweats. "Is that what you wear for Lee?" he asked frowning. "I thought you might slip into this," he told her as he went to the drawer under the bunk and pulled out a sexy nightgown.

She was horrified that he pulled that out of the drawer and expected her to wear it but didn't show it. She grabbed it out of his hand. "Maybe when we get to know each other better," she told him as he stood facing her and his back to the bunk. He took her by the waist, drew her close and kissed her softly on the lips. As much as she wanted to bite him, she returned his kiss, moving him closer to the bunk so she could grab the nameplate and knock him over the head. He kissed her again a little harder this time. Janet looked into his face and noticed his eyes were closed. She felt underneath the pillow, found the nameplate and hit him as hard as she could. He opened his eyes before falling to the floor. There was blood coming from the back of his head where she hit him. He looked at her and tried to get up but she hit him again. Janet didn't waste anytime running out of the cabin. She ran to Chip's cabin and quickly opened the door without knocking.

Shaking, "I'm sorry...I hit him...I knocked him out," she said quickly to a surprised Chip who was just getting ready for bed. "You've got to stop him before he hurts Lee anymore," she begged.

"Okay, okay," he replied quickly as he put on his pants, grabbed his shirt and put it on buttoning it as he went to their cabin.

Chip found Paul laying on the floor just coming to. He noticed quite a bit of blood on the floor where he laid. He took the mic off the wall, "Master-at-arms report to the captain's cabin on the double. He doubled clicked the mic again, "Doc, report to the captain's cabin." Chip replaced the mic in its holder

"Aye, aye sir," the MAA reported.

"I'll be right there," Jamie answered, grabbing his bag and ran up the ladder to the cabin.

The admiral hearing the commotion and Chip's call, left his cabin and hurried down the passageway to Lee's cabin.

Paul had gotten up and put his hand to the back of his head. His hand was covered in blood. "You bitch," he yelled at Janet and lunged at her but Chip pushed him back away from her.

"Don't you touch her," he ordered. "I know you're not Lee Crane."

Stunned Paul looked at Chip and then Janet. "How did you find out...she never talked to anyone...your husband will die if I don't show up at the island," he sneered.

"I wrote a note on a napkin and Cookie gave it to Chip," Janet told Paul. She looked at Chip and the admiral who had entered the cabin and continued, "His name is Paul Gallagher. You better get Adam too. He's working with Paul."

As Janet was telling Paul how she let Chip know about him, Jamie and Ron, the MAA on duty, appeared in the doorway. Jamie went over to Paul and looked at the back of his head. He saw the nameplate on the bunk and looked over at Janet, "You hit him with this?" he asked picking it up and putting it on the desk not knowing that Paul wasn't Lee.

"Yes sir," Janet replied softly. "Jamie, the man you're looking at is not Lee. He's pretending to be Lee. His name is Paul Gallagher and he's holding Lee hostage on a yacht," she explained. "I had to stop him...he was going to..." she couldn't finish telling them as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What do you mean he's not Lee?" Jamie said with a confused look on his face. But then he looked at Janet closely and noticed the red welt and scratch on her face that would only be caused by a ring when someone was slapped.

"Where did you get the welt on your face," Jamie asked as he sat Paul down in the chair and wrapped a temporary bandage around his head until he could get him to sick bay.

"Paul hit me earlier this evening when I wouldn't tell him your orders countermanded his orders so that's why Cookie came to see me when I didn't eat."

After Janet told Jamie who hit her, he looked again at Paul and knew it wasn't Lee as he would never hit a woman let alone his wife.

Paul stared her with hatred in his eyes as he had been outsmarted by her. He was pissed and started to go for her when the MAA shoved him back down in the chair and drew his gun.

"Jamie, will he be alright?" the admiral asked letting out a deep sigh.

"Yes, just a few stitches and he can be sent to the brig," Jamie replied. "Give me thirty minutes. I need to do a neuro on him but I don't think he has a concussion."

Chip turned to the MAA, "Ron, get another man, round up Adam and put him in the brig. Have a guard posted outside at all times. You will go with Dr. Jamieson and Gallagher and stay with him at all times. If he so much as attempts to escape, shoot him," he ordered.

"Aye, aye sir," Ron replied going to the nearest mic in the passageway. He told Marco to find Adam and lock him up.

Jamie helped up Gallagher from the chair and with Ron's help escorted him to sick bay where he put in ten stitches in the back of his head, did a neurological check and found nothing wrong. When he was finished Ron took him to the brig where Adam had already been locked in. Before Ron left he took another look at Gallagher and shook his head not believing he wasn't the Skipper.

((()))

The admiral, Chip and Janet went to the admiral's cabin. The admiral sat down behind his desk while Chip and Janet sat in front. "I've got a lot to tell you," she said her voice shaking.

"Just start at the beginning," the admiral told her softly.

Taking a deep breath Janet began, "We were on our way home from Catalina Island and Lee heard an SOS. We weren't that far away so we altered our course, found a cabin cruiser and Lee went aboard to help them. While Lee was on the cruiser with a man named Arnie, another man, Danny, came aboard our boat. The whole thing was a set up. Before Lee could leave the cruiser, a huge yacht shows up. Arnie started the motor on the cruiser and takes Lee away. He tried to stop them but Arnie knocked him down. The cruiser was only gone for thirty minutes when it returns with Paul aboard posing as Lee.

"How did you know it wasn't the real Lee?" Chip asked. "He not only is a dead ringer for him but acted like him and knew how to pilot a sub."

"I knew the minute Paul came aboard it wasn't Lee. His eyes gave him away. They may look like Lee's but they had no warmth. As far as knowing how to act, he had worked aboard _Seaview_ as a steward under the name of Sal Silver for a year. He also placed cameras in the ducts so he could study him. He even placed one in our cabin. After he left here, he had surgery done to look like Lee and while he recovered he watched the videos he made so he could adopt his mannerisms."

"Why did he do this?" the admiral questioned.

"Vengeance. He had captured Lee while he was on a mission. Lee escaped and embarrassed him with his superior, so he plotted to get even."

The admiral looked Janet in the eyes and asked tersely, "Why didn't you tell us this before when he first came aboard or even at the institute."

Janet looked at the admiral and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "I couldn't. Lee is still on that yacht with those men. Paul had them take videos of him. He would show me videos of Lee being beaten or tortured. If I told anyone he would order more beatings. The last one he showed me they had him tied down on the top of the yacht in the sun. He's burned all over and then they threw cold water on him and he passed out. I was afraid they would kill him."

"I'm sorry I was cross. I didn't realize that they were using Lee to keep you in line. Is he okay?"

"The last time I saw a video was him in the sun and he didn't look very good at all. There's more I need to tell you," Janet stressed. "It concerns _Seaview_."

"Go on," Chip said now sitting on the edge of his seat.

"I was in my office and went to my cabin and heard Paul and Adam talking. They didn't shut the door all the way so I stood there and listened. They are going to take over _Seaview_ and bring her along with Lee to the PR. Paul is sending men to the island to seize it. When _Seaview_ arrives they're going to take her over, lockup the crew and officers with the people on the island. To keep the crew in line, he's going to hold the three of us hostage threatening to kill each of us if the crew tries anything. They're going to destroy all communication devices too. Paul will pilot _Seaview_ back to the PR with Lee and me. He will turn them over and then return to the island to make it look like he was captured too. Admiral, Chip, Paul thinks he's going to assume Lee's life forever. We have to do something…I can't stay with him…I'll kill him," Janet admitted.

"When are Gallagher's men scheduled to be at the island?" Chip asked somberly.

"They should be there already. He had Adam purposely burn the rolls knowing that you would surface the boat to scrub it of smoke. Paul 'saved the day' inhaling the smoke so he could make a phone call using his SAT phone to tell the Arnie to make sure the men were in place by the time the yacht and _Seaview_ got there."

"Any idea how soon the yacht is going to be there," the admiral inquired.

"No sir. I'm not sure where they are. I know they stopped in Catalina to pick up Arnie and Danny and then they were going to continue on to the island."

Rubbing his hand through his hair, the admiral said, "We have our work cut out for us. I need to get in contact with Jiggs at Pearl and Johnson at ONI. Janet, does Gallagher know you heard him and Adam talking?"

"No sir. He didn't know I was listening at the door and I didn't say anything to him."

"Good, that will give us an element of surprise. Chip, make sure Janet gets to her cabin and then come back here so we can plan our 'surprise' attack. Just one more item," the admiral said to Janet, "Do you know how many men we're talking about?"

"No sir, I know there are two men on the yacht but judging by the size of it, it probably has a crew of at least two or three more people," Janet replied. "I can walk myself to the cabin."

"No, let Chip walk you back while I make my phone calls." As the admiral rose from his chair, Chip and Janet stood too. He came around the desk and gently took her hands. "You did a good job," he told her patting her hand. "We'll get Lee back safe and sound."

"I know you will," she said giving him a weak grin.

Chip opened the door for her while the admiral sat back down at his desk, picked up the phone and told Thompson in the radio shack to get him Admiral Johnson at ONI and Admiral Starke at COMSUBPAC.

Chip walked Janet to her cabin. "Sorry I barged in on you but I was afraid Paul would come after me. I didn't know if I knocked him out or just stunned him," Janet said remembering that Chip looked a little embarrassed when she caught him in his underwear.

Smiling, "That's okay. I'm glad you did. I'm really sorry but Gallagher actually had me believing you were losing your mind."

"No problem. I just might have if I had to pretend he was Lee much longer. Please let me know what you and the admiral come up with. I want to help but could you do me one favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" Chip answered with a concerned look on his face.

"Check the air vent to make sure he didn't put another camera in there. I don't want anyone to see what's going on in there," Janet asked softly.

"I'll check it now but I'll make sure someone checks the whole cabin tomorrow just to make sure there's nothing in there. I'll have them go over the whole boat too," Chip reassured her. "Do you want to stay in my cabin for tonight? I can stay in yours," he offered.

"No, I would rather be in mine. But thanks for offering."

Chip opened the door and quickly looked around the cabin and then the air vent. He didn't see any cameras or listening devices. "I think it's all clean."

"Thanks Chip."

Chip closed the door and stood there for a few minutes. He was upset that he didn't realize that Gallagher wasn't Lee. After all they were best friends, roommates and had worked together for years; he should have known something wasn't right. Shaking his head, he continued on to the admiral's cabin and knocked on the door.

"Come in," the admiral said just as he was getting off the phone. Chip sat down in the chair next to the admiral's desk. The admiral sensed something was wrong.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No sir. I'm just upset that I didn't recognize that Gallagher wasn't Lee. I should have known," he said angrily.

"That makes two of us," the admiral responded. "I should have known also." The admiral continued, "I talked to Johnson and he's going to check out this Paul Gallagher. His name doesn't ring a bell but he's going to look into some of Lee's old missions and get back to me. There's a destroyer on patrol not to far from the island so Jiggs' is going to send it to the island to take Gallagher and his men off our hands. They will make sure the men get to Pearl Harbor. Do you have any ideas on how to surprise our friends?"

Thompson rang the admiral's phone while Chip sat thinking how they could capture Gallagher's men and making sure none of _Seaview's_ crew was hurt. "Thanks Gerald," the admiral said finishing his call with Admiral Johnson. "Johnson found Gallagher's name in a file. Lee had been captured, tortured and Gallagher was bringing him back to the PR when Lee managed to escape. Johnson did find out though that at one time he was a submarine captain. I must admit he's handled _Seaview_ pretty well but now that makes sense he let you take her out of her berth. He knew he would be discovered if he did it and scraped the paint. You know Lee could take her out blindfolded if needed."

"You're right. He wasn't checking on the missile hatch when he took his time getting down to the control room after we cleared the breakwater, he was making a phone call and probably made one when he went up on deck after he inhaled the smoke. How could we be so blind?" Chip lamented. "It could have gotten Lee and Janet killed."

"We can't worry about that now. What did you come up with? I saw that look on your face, you have a plan," the admiral answered with a wry grin.

"What if we let them think they're taking over _Seaview_? We dock as normal, and wait for the deck detail to secure the boat. We know they will take those men right away. We can have a couple of men with me in the sail bridge with automatic weapons ready to shoot if necessary. They'll be expecting Gallagher to be in the control room ready to sail to the PR so they will send men down to round up the crew only Gallagher won't be in the control room but our men will. Armed and waiting for them, that is."

"That might work," the admiral replied, "it's too bad we don't know how many of Gallagher's men are on the island."

"Do you think Gallagher will tell us with a little coaxing," Chip smirked as he desperately wanted to get his hands on him.

Smirking back the admiral said, "We all could try to coax it out of him but let's see what happens when we get there. We'll have the men armed and ready for the 'greeting committee' when they come aboard. He can't have that many men on the island."

"Yes sir," Chip replied as he stood up ready to leave the admiral's cabin when he heard Sparks on the mic.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was getting dark and Lee had been tied to the deck from almost eight hours. His back, legs and bottoms of his feet were burnt from the hot sun. His chest was rubbed raw from the movement of the yacht on the rough sea. He was thirsty, hungry and tired. He had tried to work loose the ropes tying him to the deck but made no progress. He stopped struggling hearing the sliding door open from the main salon where heard the voices of Arnie and Howie talking as they walked out. He waited for them to come up and untie him. Lee figured the yacht was at least sixty feet long and had four decks. He was locked up on the bottom deck with the engines. When they initially brought him up, he noticed the deck he was on had the bridge, galley and a stateroom. He also knew the main salon was where the owner's quarters were and where Arnie and Howie had just come from. He could hear them as they stood outside.

"When we get to the island tomorrow, Mr. Gallagher's men will have taken over the island and put the people located there in one of the buildings in the compound. Once _Seaview_ docks, they'll take the deck crew and put them in with the others until we get the rest of the crew off the boat," Arnie slurred.

"How many men does he have on that island? _Seaview_ must have over hundred men on her," Howie said slurring his words too.

"I think he said there were at least twenty. I'm sure Mr. Gallagher will have taken steps to make sure we can get the crew off. Once the crew has been locked up, we'll board her and takeover operations. The men on the island are all sailors so we shouldn't have too much trouble getting _Seaview_ back home. After all Mr. Gallagher is a submarine captain."

Lee smiled as he listened to the men talking realizing they were drunk. He wondered where Danny was as he recognized the voices of the Howie and Arnie. If he was going to save _Seaview_ he would have to make his move now. Lee heard to the men come up the ladder and pretended to be asleep. Arnie kicked the bottom of his foot. Lee stirred and let out a cry of pain.

"Wake up Crane. Your sun tanning days are over," Arnie said as he untied his ankles and then untied his wrists. Lee slowly pushed himself up. His back was on fire along with the back of his legs and the bottom of his feet. He tried to stand but the pain in the bottom of his feet kept him from standing so Arnie jerked him up by his arm. Lee took his other hand and punched Arnie right in the jaw sending him into the bench on the deck knocking him out cold. Howie quickly saw what was taking place and ran over to Lee catching him in the jaw with his fist. Lee staggered backward almost tripping over Arnie but managed to avoid another of Howie's punches before connecting with one of his own sending him overboard into the ocean. Lee looked over the rail but there was nothing he could do. He watched as the man slowly sank under the waves.

He quickly put on his t-shirt and shorts. Lee took the zip ties Arnie had on him and tied his hands together to the railing and then tied his ankles together. He took the gun that Arnie had and put it in the waist band of his shorts. He took Howie's gun and threw it overboard. Grabbing the rest of the ties he gently and cautiously walked down the stairs to the main salon. Now not only were his feet sore but his jaw too. He had to find Danny. He also needed to find out how many more people were on the yacht. He knew about the three men, and figured there would be someone at the helm but wasn't sure if anyone else was aboard. He found Danny on the couch in the main salon passed out as he too was drunk. He put him over his shoulder and made his way down to the room where he had been locked up. He zip tied his hands together then secured him to a rail that was in the cabin to keep the loads from shifting. He then zip tied his feet. He grabbed his shoes and put them on before he left the cabin. It hurt to walk but the shoes did help somewhat.

He made his way to the deck where the bridge was located and saw a man and woman in there. He cautiously opened the door. The woman noticed him first and tapped the man on the shoulder. Lee took the gun out of his shorts and pointed it at them.

"Mr. Gallagher, I thought you left the boat," the woman said as she stared at Lee.

"I'm not Paul Gallagher. I'm Lee Crane."

"So you must be the man they're holding below," the man said warily.

"Yes, I am."

"How did you escape the clutches of the other men," he continued.

"They got drunk and I managed to overtake them. Unfortunately, Howie fell overboard," Lee stated.

"No big loss," the woman smirked. "I'm Jenny Crosby and this is my husband Jacob."

"I sense that you aren't exactly here of your own free will either?"

Jenny continued, "No sir. Paul Gallagher is my cousin. Let's just say he's the black sheep of the family. Born and raised here in the United States and then all of sudden defects to the PR. He made us help or he'd have our daughters and parents killed," she said softly. "How did you happen to meet him and why does he look like you?"

Running his hand through his hair Lee replied, "Let's just say he wasn't happy with something that took place a few years ago and decided to take revenge on me by changing his looks and taking over my life. Would you be willing to help me see that he is stopped from hurting your family and taking me back to the PR?" Lee asked hopefully.

"What can we do?' Jacob responded without hesitation.

"First of all do you have any water. They had me out there all day and I'm really thirsty."

Jenny went over to a small refrigerator and took a bottle of water and handed it to Lee who quickly opened up the bottle and guzzled down the whole thing. Jenny handed him another one which he drank a little slower.

"When was the last time you ate or changed?"

"Ate this morning and no clothes," Lee grinned looking at his dirty shirt and shorts. "I guess I don't smell or look very good."

Smiling back Jenny said, "No you don't smell very good and you sure are sunburned. I tried to help you the other day when they put you out there but Arnie almost threw me overboard. I'll get some clothes for you while you take a shower. Maybe I can also find something for your sunburn in the stateroom and I'll make you something to eat. I was just going to get us some dinner anyway."

"Thanks Jenny but first I need to contact my submarine and warn them that they're in danger."

Surprised, Jacob looked away from the water at Lee, "You have a submarine?"

"Yes, I'm the captain of the _Seaview_ and work for the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. They're heading to Cole Island just like you only Gallagher has arranged to have her taken over so he can take her back to the PR too. They're on their way there to check out some sensors that were placed in the ocean and are not working."

"I've heard of your submarine and the Nelson Institute. I would love to see her. I was in the Navy but now I pilot one of the charter boats that go to Catalina Island that's why we were picked to take Paul's yacht to the island."

Smiling Lee answered, "I'll make sure you get a tour now where's your radio?"

Paul pointed to a cabinet on his left. Lee opened it up and found a state of the art radio system.

Lee dialed in _Seaview's_ frequency. " _Seaview_ this Crane, come in _Seaview._ "

Sparks was just getting off duty and turning the communications over to Thompson when he heard Lee's call. He and Thompson looked at each other confused as they thought the captain was on board. They didn't know about Gallagher not being Lee.

Lee called _Seaview_ again more urgently, "Crane to _Seaview,_ come in _Seaview_ , Sparks please answer _."_

Sparks immediately called Chip's cabin but he didn't reply. Keying the mic he placed a boat wide call for Chip. "Mr. Morton, please report to the radio shack immediately."

Chip was still in the Admiral's office when he heard the call. The admiral pressed the intercom button on his desk. "What is it Sparks? Mr. Morton is with me."

"Sir, I'm getting a call from a boat and the caller is identifying himself as the Skipper. I thought he was on board. Did he leave the boat?"

The admiral quickly responded, "We'll be right there. Answer the call and relay that message."

"Aye, aye sir," Sparks replied quickly. " _Seaview_ to Captain Crane, please hold for the admiral."

"Thanks Sparks," Lee sighed taking a deep breath but wondered why the admiral would take the call but realized he must have somehow found out the man on board was not really him.

Janet heard to the boat wide call for Chip and ran down to the radio shack just as the admiral was answering Lee's call. She stood next to Chip and gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Lee," was all the admiral got out before Lee starting talking, "Admiral, why did you take the call...do you know the man on board is not me...how did you find out... _Seaview's_ in danger...is Janet alright?" he rattled off before the admiral could respond to any of the questions.

"Slow down Lee. Yes, I know Paul Gallagher's posing as you. I won't go into details right now and we know _Seaview_ is going to be taken over by Gallagher's men that are on the island."

Catching his breath, "How did you find out?"

"Janet told us everything after she managed to get note to Cookie and knock Gallagher out. He's in the brig along with Adam Spade who was helping him."

Rubbing his forehead "Janet," Lee responded gratefully. "What are we going to do about the men taking over _Seaview_?"

"Do you know how many men there are on the island?" Chip asked.

"About twenty. I overheard the men who were holding me here talking but I managed to disarm and tie them up. I don't know what plan you've come up with but I think we should meet before we get to the island."

"I agree," the admiral said. "You need to be on the bridge when we pull up to that island or Gallagher's men will know something is up. We should be there by 1200 hours tomorrow." Chip nodded his head in agreement.

"I haven't checked to see where we are. Let me ask the captain of the yacht." Lee looked at Jacob who looked at his chart and replied, "We should be there about 1400 hours."

Lee took a look at the chart Jacob had and figured out a rendezvous point. "We'll meet at the following coordinates at 1300 hours," Lee replied giving them the information. Chip nodded his head knowing they would be there with no problem.

"Okay Lee," the admiral replied. Janet touched the admiral's sleeve before he severed the connection. He smiled and handed her the mic.

"Lee, are you okay?" she asked softly not wanting the whole control room to hear their conversation. The control room was just as confused as Sparks and Thompson. Chip and the admiral looked around and saw their confused looks.

"Sweetie, I'm fine just a little sunburned," he answered with a grin.

She handed the mic back to the admiral. "Okay Lee we'll see you in a few hours. _Seaview_ out."

"Crane out," he replied back. "Thanks for you help," Lee said to Jacob.

"No problem. I'm going to increase our speed a little so we can make the rendezvous. Jenny can pilot the boat for a little while tonight while I catch some shut eye. She's gotten pretty good at it."

Lee broke out in a big smile. "Maybe someday my wife will be able to pilot a boat too."

Jenny had come up from the deck below with a plate of sandwiches, fruit and drinks. "I've laid out some clothes on the bed in Gallagher's stateroom. There's also some ointment for you sunburn. I found a can of spray to take the burn out of the sunburn. I'll spray it on your back if you'd like."

"Thanks, Jenny. I'll be back in about ten minutes but go ahead and eat if you want."

"We'll wait. I want to hear more about your submarine," Jacob said.

"Thanks for your help," Lee answered as he gingerly went down the stairs and into the Gallagher's stateroom where he took a nice long leisurely shower and changed his clothes. He wasn't thrilled with wearing Gallagher's clothes but they were a lot better than his. Before he put his shirt on he spread the ointment on the open sores on his legs and chest. He made his way back to the bridge where Jenny sprayed the burn relief over his back and legs. He sprayed his feet and the rest of his body. He felt a lot better as he joined the Crosby's for dinner and told them about _Seaview_.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _Seaview_ was at the rendezvous point holding at ninety feet. The admiral, Chip, Bobby and Janet were in the control room at the plotting table waiting for the yacht to make contact. They had been sitting there for over an hour when Kowalski piped up, "Mr. Morton, a large vessel two thousand yards a stern on the port side."

Chip went over to the sonar station and looked at the image on the screen. "Looks like a pretty big boat," he commented. "Up periscope," he said as O'Brien pressed the button and the scope lifted out of the well.

Chip lowered down the handles and made a ninety degree turn when he stopped. "Wow, that's a large yacht," he said with a whistle. "Prepare to surface." He pushed the button on the periscope and waited until it was in the well.

"Surface, surface," O'Brien ordered maneuvering. "Blow main ballast." _Seaview_ slowly broached the surface.

Once on the surface, O'Brien ordered the deck detail to crack the hatch. They would wait for Lee to contact them before going to the conning tower. They didn't have to wait too long before they received a radio call from the yacht.

Lee was on the top deck with binoculars looking for _Seaview_ and watched her surface. He broke out into a large grin when he saw her rise out of the water. He went down to the bridge.

"Jacob, stop her here and drop the anchors. I don't want to get too close to _Seaview_ ," Lee instructed. "I'll have them send over a zodiac to pick us up."

"Crane to _Seaview_ ," Lee said over the radio.

" _Seaview_ here," Sparks replied.

"Sparks let me talk to Mr. Morton," Le asked as he piped him over to the plotting table.

"Lee," Chip said when he picked up the mic. "That's some yacht you're cruising on."

"Yes, it's not too bad of a ride," Lee replied with chuckle. "But not as good as _Seaview_. I need you to send over some men to stay on the yacht while we work out our plan with the captain and crew of the boat. Also, I have two men that need to go to the brig."

"Okay, Lee. I'll send over O'Brien, Patterson, Marco, Phil, and Ron. We'll launch the zodiac as soon as the men can get aboard."

"Thanks Chip. I'll be looking for them. Crane out."

Chip double clicked the button on the mic and ordered the men to the control room. When they had assembled they went up the ladder and onto the deck where the zodiac was waiting for them. They made their way over to the yacht where Lee was on the platform at the back to help them aboard. Once on board he brought them up to the bridge and introduced them to the Crosby's.

They all noticed how sunburned their skipper was. Lee saw them staring. "I'm just a bit overdone," he told them with a wry grin.

"Mr. O'Brien, I would like you to stay here with Patterson and Marco. Phil, Ron, you will take me and the Crosby's back to _Seaview_ and then return back here. There's a man tied up on the top deck and one on the lower level, third door on the right they need to be brought back to the boat and put in the brig. Keep them tied up."

"Aye, aye, sir," the men replied. O'Brien looked around the bridge of the yacht and was impressed with its equipment.

"Jenny, Jacob, let's go," Lee said as they went to the back of the boat and boarded the zodiac.

Chip was in the sail bridge watching as the zodiac returned to _Seaview_ ; he could see Lee was very sunburned.

As soon as the zodiac reached the side of the boat, the deck detail helped them aboard. Chip made his way down to the control room to wait for Lee and the two other people to come aboard.

Lee looked down the hatch and asked, "Permission to come aboard?"

Chip smiled and replied "Permission granted."

Lee gingerly climbed down the ladder not jumping off the bottom three rungs as his feet were still pretty sore. He helped Jenny down, followed by Jacob. Both of them stood at the bottom of the ladder and just stared at the windows.

The admiral, Chip and Janet walked over to them and looked at Lee. His eye was turning a nice shade of purple and yellow. He had a large bruise on his jaw and his lips were cracked, split and swollen. They could see his arms, legs, and face were very sunburned. He also moved very slowly so they knew he had more injuries than they could see.

"I'm not as bad as I look," Lee said noticing them staring at him especially Janet. "Jenny and Jacob Crosby I would like you to meet Admiral Nelson, Commander Morton and my wife Janet. They're going to help us take back the island."

"Nice to meet you," Jacob replied as he and Jenny shook hands with them.

"Welcome aboard," the admiral said warmly, "Lee you need to report to sick bay before we do anything. I'm sure you're hiding more than we can see."

"Admiral, we have a lot to discuss, I'll do it later. Right now I want to shower and get into a uniform."

Before he could say anything more, Jamie walked into the control room after hearing that they had rendezvoused with the yacht and looked at Lee. "Captain, you'll report to sick bay right now or you won't be doing anything but laying in a bunk in sick bay."

Exhaling deeply, "Okay Jamie, let's go and get it over with. Chip, I promised Jacob and Jenny a tour of _Seaview_ ; could you please take care of that? How about we meet in the wardroom in an hour? We'll work out the details then."

"Yes sir," Chip responded with a grin as he led Jacob and Jenny to the observation nose.

Jamie, Lee and Janet left out the aft hatch and went to sick bay. Lee grabbed Janet's hand and gave it a squeeze. She smiled at him but was very worried about him. He looked tired...in pain...and just plain awful.

((()))

Once in sick bay, Jamie helped Lee remove his shirt and shorts before he made him sit on the gurney. His chest and sides had bruises from being kicked, and blisters that were oozing and starting to show signs of infection. The back of his arms, legs, and back was very sunburned but didn't have any blisters. The front of his legs had a few blisters as well as his arms. When he took off his shoes, they all saw the tops and bottoms of his feet were starting to blister. They could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"At least I don't have any tan lines," Lee smiled trying to lighten up the mood as both Jamie and Janet looked at him. "I'm fine," he continued even though he had a headache and was nauseated.

"Lee, how long were you out in the sun?" Jamie asked as he probed his ribs. Lee let out a low moan when he pressed on a tender spot. Jamie already knew he had sun poisoning. He could see he had been beaten as well from the signs on his torso and face.

"On my front, probably twelve hours, on my back maybe six to eight," he answered honestly.

Jamie shook his head at his favorite patient and knew he was feeling worse than he let on. "Lee, I want you to shower here so I can take care of you and your sunburn. Janet can get you a uniform."

"Jamie, I don't have time for this," Lee insisted. "We have to set up a plan of attack."

"You'll have to make the time or I'll put you in sick bay for the rest of this mission," Jamie replied angrily. "I bet you have a fever, your blisters are showing signs of infection and you also have a couple of cracked ribs."

"Jamie, can I please go to my cabin and take a shower?" Lee asked, "I promise I'll come back."

Jamie looked at him and then at Janet, "Alright you can take your shower there but make it a cool shower. Pat yourself dry, don't rub. Put a t-shirt on under your uniform shirt."

"Yes sir," Lee responded as he slid off the gurney. He put the shirt and shorts back on and left for their cabin walking very slowly.

((()))

Lee and Janet made it their cabin but before going in, Lee stared at the door and knew it was a new one. Janet noticed when Lee opened the door he wasn't very discreet about looking around the cabin especially looking at the air vent.

"I know about the camera Paul put in here," Janet said softly. "He told me about it."

Lee looked took Janet's hand, "I'm sorry he was privy to our intimate moments," he apologized.

"Lee, I'm not blaming you for anything. I'm sure if you knew what he was doing you would have stopped him."

Lee took Janet by the waist and pulled her close to him. As much as she wanted to give him a long hard hug, she was afraid she would hurt him so she gently gave him a small hug and gingerly kissed his cheek. His lips were so swollen and cracked she just couldn't kiss him there knowing she would hurt him.

Lee smiled at her acknowledging her concern. "I missed you...did Gallagher hurt you?" Lee asked rubbing his hand over the red welt on her face. "And where did this come from?" he asked as he picked up the glass nameplate from his desk."

"I missed you too and was worried about you. He hit me when I wouldn't tell him about Cookie's order. Lee, please take a shower so you can get back to sick bay. As far as the door and nameplate, I'll explain what happened later."

She helped Lee removed his clothes and he got in the shower letting the cool water cascade over him. As he patted himself dry, Janet saw him start to sway and caught him before he hit the floor. She helped him over to the chair at his desk and poured him a glass of water. He slowly drank the cool water and pressed the glass to his forehead. Janet went to the head and ran a towel under the cold water and put it on the back of his neck.

"Honey, please stay in sick bay for a few hours," she pleaded, "We'll figure something out and let you know what we came up with but there is only one problem. You have to be in the conning tower when we dock on Cole Island. If you're not there, they'll kill everyone."

"I'll be okay," Lee told her as he put his uniform shirt on and noticed how much it hurt to wear it. He started to put on his tie but decided against it as it would rub against his neck. He put on his pants on and they rubbed against his sunburned legs. "Let's go back to sick bay but please don't tell Jamie I almost passed out. Once we get the island back and everything is under our control, I promise you I'll report back to sick bay."

"Against my better judgment, I'll go along with you for now but if you..."

"Thanks sweetie," Lee replied giving her a kiss. As they left the cabin, Janet grabbed a t-shirt.

((()))

When Lee returned to sick bay, Jamie helped remove his clothes again. He put an antibiotic ointment on the blisters on his chest and put gauze pads over them. He sprayed the rest of him with an aloe gel.

"Put your t-shirt on," Jamie told Lee as Janet helped him get it over his head. "I'm going to wrap your torso with some ace bandages but not too tightly as to hurt the blisters. It will help you move a little easier without too much pain." He also put antibiotic ointment on his legs and wrapped them in gauze. Before Lee finished getting dressed Jamie gave him a shot of antibiotics and a couple of acetaminophen tablets.

Lee put his uniform shirt on and buttoned it up. With the gauze pads and t-shirt his uniform shirt didn't rub against his chest. When he put on his pants they didn't rub against his legs because of the gauze.

"Thanks, Jamie," Lee said as he buttoned his sleeves. "That does feel better." His shoes still hurt the bottom of his feet but he would have to deal with it for now.

"You're welcome," Jamie answered looking at his watch. "You have five minutes to get to the wardroom. Please try not to drink coffee for the rest of the day only water as you are dehydrated."

"Okay, just for today," Lee smirked as he and Janet left sick bay for the wardroom.

When they arrived, the rest of the group was there getting their dinner.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lee and Janet grabbed a bowl of chicken soup and a sandwich and sat down next to Chip. Janet got them each a glass of water before sitting down. Chip looked at the water and then Lee. "Jamie's orders, no coffee today," Janet told him.

"Did you enjoy your tour of _Seaview_?" Lee asked Jenny and Jacob trying to spoon some soup into his mouth.

"Yes, she's quite a boat," Jacob replied smiling

"That she is," Lee answered with a huge smile too and looked over at the admiral.

"We better work out a plan," the admiral said taking a drink of coffee. "We know that Lee needs to be in the control room when we dock at the island. Chip thought that we would have the deck detail tie down the boat as normal. We know the men on the island will take them away. Hopefully they won't hurt them as they'll be unarmed. We'll have men stationed out of sight in the conning tower with automatic weapons in case things don't go as planned."

"According to what I overheard from Arnie, there should be about twenty men waiting for us," Lee stated. "How were they planning on taking over _Seaview_?"

Janet spoke up, "Paul and Adam were in our cabin and they didn't shut the door so I heard them talking. They would hold the admiral, Chip and me as hostages threatening to shoot us if they men didn't cooperate."

"Our men will be waiting for them when they board. Admiral Starke is sending a destroyer to take Gallagher and the rest of the men to Pearl Harbor," Chip interjected.

Lee looked at Jacob and Jenny. "Do you have any instructions that you are to follow?"

"All we were supposed to do was bring the yacht to the island with you aboard. Once they removed you from the yacht, we were to follow _Seaview_ to the PR and bring Paul and Janet back to the island. We don't know what was supposed to take place after that as he gave Howie the instructions."

"Lee," Chip piped up, "We only brought Arnie and Danny back from the yacht. Where's the other one?"'

"He tried to knock me out but I got one good punch in and he fell overboard."

Janet answered Lee's question. "When he returned from the PR, he was going to 'pretend' he needed to be rescued with the rest of the people on the island. I'm not sure how he was going to contact anyone as they were going to destroy all the communication devices on the island."

Chip looked at Lee and could see he was working out the details. "Do we know the names of any of the men on the island? If I don't call someone by name, they're going to get suspicious."

"Sorry Lee," Janet answered, "I didn't get any names of the men on the island and I highly doubt Paul and any of his friends will help us."

Jenny quietly spoke up, "Barry is the name of one of the men. I heard Paul talking to someone on the phone before we picked up Lee."

"Thanks, Jenny," Lee replied grateful for the information. "When were you scheduled to arrive at the island?"

"Actually we were scheduled to be there this afternoon but Arnie told them about the storm we ran into so I'm hoping they will figure out the storm slowed us down," Jacob responded to Lee's question.

"Okay. I think _Seaview_ should arrive at the island before the yacht. Hopefully we'll have everything under control by the time you arrive so you don't get hurt," Lee told them.

"We want to help," Jacob volunteered.

Lee sat there quietly for a moment. " _Seaview's_ men will stay on the yacht when you get to the island. If our plan doesn't work, they'll be there as back up. We'll make sure they're armed in case we need to use them."

As they finished up their dinner Lee asked Jenny and Jacob, "Would you like to stay aboard _Seaview_ tonight?"

"I hope you won't be offended but we would rather go back to the yacht," Jacob said with a smile.

Laughing Lee commented, "I don't blame you. _Seaview's_ cabins are bigger than most but that owner's suite and main salon on the yacht is very comfortable. I'm sure Mr. O'Brien won't mind sailing her overnight so we can reach the island in the morning."

"Thanks, Lee," Jenny answered.

Lee called Chief Sharkey on the mic and told him to ready the zodiac and take four automatic weapons over to the yacht. They finished dinner and made their way to the control room so the Crosby's could be taken back to the yacht.

Before Jenny and Jacob climbed up the ladder Lee had a question for them, "What's the name of the yacht? I never looked for the name when I was back there."

" _Double_ _Vengeance_ ," Jacob answered as he continued up the ladder and out to the quarterdeck where the deck detail was waiting to help them board the zodiac and return them to the yacht.

"How appropriate," Lee chuckled softly as he walked over to the radio shack and had Sparks send a message to O'Brien to stay aboard and continue on course to the island. Patterson, Marco and Phil were also to stay aboard to help out.

((()))

The admiral, Lee, Chip and Janet stayed in the control room where Chip checked out where they were and how long it would take them to get to the island. Once he was satisfied with the course, he looked at Lee.

"Lee, go to sick bay for the night. I've got everything under control here. You look like hell."

"I feel like hell," Lee admitted. "Maybe I'll stay there overnight so I'm better in the morning,"

Janet gently took his hand as they walked out the aft hatch to sick bay. The admiral looked at Chip as they left the control room. "He really must not feel well to admit he wants to go to sick bay. He does look like hell," the admiral said. Chip shook his head in agreement. "I'll check on him later when I go off duty."

"I'll be in my cabin if you should need me. I'll look in on him later too," the admiral told Chip as he went up the staircase.

Chip walked around the control room checking out all the stations making sure all the instruments were functioning properly. Taper would relieve him later on since O'Brien was on the yacht. _I wonder how he got the cushy job of piloting the yacht_ , Chip thought. From what he saw of it from the conning tower it looked pretty ritzy.

((()))

Before Lee reported to sick bay he went down to the brig to confront Paul Gallagher. "Lee, please don't go," Janet begged. "You don't need to talk to him."

"Go and wait for me in sick bay. I'll be there shortly," Lee ordered but knew by the look on Janet's face she had no intention of following that order.

There were two guards on duty at the brig. The four men were laying on the bunks when Lee walked over to the doors.

Paul got up from the bunk and walked over to the wall of bars, "You look a little overdone, Commander," he said snidely.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Lee answered calmly noticing the bandage on his head. "You're the one with the problem now. You're not going to get me or _Seaview_ back to the PR so I guess you lose again."

"We'll see about that," Paul replied smugly.

"Oh Mr. Gallagher, I'm sure you'll never get back to there again along with your cohorts here," Lee stated and walked back to the door of the brig. "Make sure there are guards on duty twenty fours hours."

"Yes sir," the MAA replied and stood on guard at the door.

Danny looked over at Paul, "Mr. Gallagher, he seems pretty positive that he's not going back."

"He doesn't know what is waiting for them on that island," Paul declared and sat back down on the bunk.

((()))

Lee and Janet walked up the ladder into the passageway that would take them to sick bay. Lee was tired, his sunburn was really bothering him and no matter how much water he drank he was still thirsty and cold. Jamie was sitting at his desk catching up on some paperwork when Lee and Janet walked in.

"Everything okay, Skipper?" Jamie asked seeing that Lee was in obvious pain.

"No Jamie," Lee replied, "this sunburn is killing me and I'm so thirsty. Could you spray some more aloe gel on it?"

Jamie motioned for Lee to sit down on the gurney as he looked like he was going to fall over. "Yes, Lee I can do that but I really think you need to spend the night here with an IV. You're very dehydrated and need to sleep. I'll put a mild sedative in your IV. Just strong enough for you to be able to sleep but wake up with a clear head in the morning," Jamie promised. "I'll change your bandages and put some antibiotic ointment on your burns too before I apply more gel."

"Okay Jamie," Lee conceded. "I'll take your advice but don't get any ideas that I'm going to follow your orders all the time," he grinned.

Lee removed his uniform and Jamie took care of his blisters. Once Jamie was finished, Janet took a pair of scrubs and helped Lee put them on while Jamie retrieved an IV kit and sedative. She helped him get settled in a bunk and could see he was shivering even though the room was a comfortable temperature. Jamie pulled up a stool and prepared Lee's arm. He inserted the IV, adjusted the flow and injected the sedative into the tube. Janet covered him with a blanket and sat down on the stool Jamie had vacated to dispose of the IV packaging. Jamie turned down the lights in sick bay when he returned.

"Sweetheart, please go back to the cabin and get some rest. I'm not going anywhere and I'll be asleep in a few minutes," Lee told her his eyes already getting heavy.

"I want to stay for little while and then I'll go to the cabin," Janet replied as she gently held his hand.

He was sleeping by the time Jamie returned to check on him. "Janet, I owe you an apology," Jamie said quietly as she sat by his bunk.

"What do you mean? Janet asked puzzled.

"I really thought you clobbered Lee with that nameplate...I didn't know that wasn't Lee...I honestly thought you were going over the deep end after you tried to shoot him," Jamie answered.

"First, you had no way of know that wasn't Lee and I couldn't say anything because they would beat or torture him," Janet responded as she looked at him sleeping. "Secondly when you list what I've done it is so out of character for me I guess it does sound like I've snapped," Janet remarked softly. "Jamie, there's a lot more to this story that you don't know. I promise I'll fill you in but please not just yet."

"No problem," he replied patting her hand. "I think you need to go and get some sleep."

Just as she got up from the stool, Chip entered sick bay. "I'll take over," he told Janet noticing she looked very tired.

"Thanks Chip," Janet said and walked out of sick bay taking one last look before she left for their cabin.

"How's he doing Jamie?" Chip asked as he stood by Lee's bunk.

"He's going to be in a lot of pain for a few days and then I can hardly wait until he starts to peel," Jamie smirked.

Chip pulled up a chair and sat there for thirty minutes before the admiral came in. He entered sick bay and saw Chip with his legs stretched out in front of him, arms folded across his chest and his chin resting on his chest.

Smiling at his XO he said, "I'll sit with him for awhile. You look pretty done in, go hit the rack."

Jamie was sitting at his desk and saw the admiral come in sick bay. He sat there looking at the three men as Chip and the admiral stood there once again watching over Lee Crane. He sighed deeply and returned to his paperwork.

"Thank you sir," Chip replied as he got up from the chair and the admiral sat down. "Goodnight."

"Night Chip," the admiral said and got comfortable in the chair looking at the man he considered the son he never had.

The admiral had been sitting there for thirty minutes when Jamie put his paperwork away and turned off the light on his desk and walked over to his boss and friend.

"He actually let you give him a sedative," the admiral grinned as Jamie stood next to him.

Jamie returned the grin. "I think Lee Crane knows his limits and knew he would need all his wits about him tomorrow to be fully functional. We all are going to need to be on our toes, so I think you better get some sleep too," Jamie told him.

Running his hand through his hair, the admiral replied, "You're right and I think we're getting to old for this."

Jamie shook his head in agreement as he checked Lee once more before Frank came in and would stay with Lee for the rest of the night.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Janet woke up early and quickly got ready so she could bring Lee a clean uniform and t-shirt. She ran down to sick bay and almost knocked Jamie over. "Sorry," she said quickly. "Is Lee awake?"

"It's okay, and yes he's been up for thirty minutes and was just going to call you to bring him a uniform."

"I slept later than I wanted," she replied as she went over to Lee's bunk but he wasn't there. "Where is he?"

"Right here," Lee answered coming out of the head drying his hair. He gave her a kiss and took the uniform out of her hands.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized. "How do you feel?" She noticed he looked at lot better this morning than he did last night.

"Relax, Jamie's going to change the bandages after I showered so you're not late."

Jamie walked over to him and he laid down on the gurney. Janet stood next to Lee and watched as Jamie changed the bandages and put some more ointment on the blisters which looked a little better than before. When Jamie was finished, he sat up and took the t-shirt from Janet and put it on. Jamie wrapped an ace bandage around his torso. Lee put on his shirt, buttoned it up and then put his pants on after Jamie also bandaged his legs.

"Lee, please take it easy," Jamie asked.

"Sure Jamie," Lee grinned as he put on his shoes. He decided to forego his tie once again and put it in his pocket before leaving for the wardroom for breakfast. He was hungry this morning.

((()))

Lee and Janet arrived in the wardroom just as the admiral and Chip had started eating. Janet sat down at the table as Lee went to the coffee urn and poured them a mug of coffee. He couldn't wait to have some after going all day yesterday without it. The mess specialists brought over their breakfast.

"Good morning, Admiral, Chip," Lee said as he sat down next to Chip. "How soon before we get to the island?"

"We should be there in two hours," Chip reported noticing Lee looked a lot better today. "The yacht is thirty minutes behind us. O'Brien reports everything is okay aboard the yacht."

Lee took a big gulp of coffee savoring the taste. "I'm worried that the men on the island might get suspicious that Gallagher hasn't contacted them. Do we have Gallagher's phone?"

"Yes, I have it in my cabin," the admiral answered.

"I'm going to call as soon as we're done here and let them know how soon we're going to be there. If they question why I haven't contacted them sooner, I'll say we've been running submerged. Hopefully that answer will satisfy them as they are all submariners according to Arnie."

"We'll get it when we're finished," the admiral replied taking his last bite of breakfast.

"Chip, I want to have a meeting with the deck crew, Chief Sharkey, Kowalski and Riley before we get to the island. Let's meet in the observation nose in thirty minutes," Lee stated as he stabbed a piece of pancake.

"Okay Lee, I'll see that the men are there," Chip answered waiting for Lee to continue.

"I want to review with them what we hope will take place on the dock when we get there."

They finished up their breakfast and Lee and the admiral left for his cabin as Chip and Janet headed for the control room. The admiral retrieved the phone from his desk and handed it to Lee. He looked it over and it was very similar to the one he carried. The two men left the cabin for the control room.

"Chip, surface the boat," Lee ordered as soon as he was in the control room.

"Aye, aye sir," Chip replied as he pressed the klaxon three times and took the mic out of the holder. "Surface, surface," he said stowing the mic when he was finished.

Once on the surface, Lee and Chip went up the ladder to the conning tower. Lee took the phone out of his pocket, turned it on and pressed the number one button hoping it would connect him to the men on the island.

"Everything okay Mr. Gallagher...we were expecting you here yesterday," a man said when he answered the phone.

Taking a chance that it was Barry he was talking too, Lee replied, "Sorry Barry we ran into some bad weather and had to stay submerged longer than I expected. We had to slow down so we wouldn't get too far ahead of the yacht. We should be docking in two hours."

"We'll be ready and waiting for you," Barry answered eagerly. "Everything's in place."

"Good," Lee said, "everything is ready here too." Lee disconnected the phone before Barry could ask him any more questions.

"Do you think he knew it wasn't Gallagher?" Chip asked seriously.

"No, I don't think so," Lee said rubbing his forehead. "Let's get below so we can meet with the men."

The two men left the conning tower and went down the ladder. Lee still didn't jump off skipping the last three rungs. The admiral and Janet were waiting in the observation nose with the six men from the deck detail, Chief Sharkey, Kowalski and Riley.

((()))

Lee and Chip made their way to the nose and stood in front of the men. "We should be docking in about two hours. Once we're at the pier, the deck detail will tie _Seaview_ up just like normal. I'm going to assume we'll be met by some men who will be armed. As soon as you're done securing the boat, I'm afraid you're going to be taken away by some of those men. Please don't resist, just go with them. You'll be covered just in case things get a little sticky. They're probably going to take you to one of the buildings and lock you up with the rest of the people on the island. Sorry men but I need you to follow these orders so we can stop them from taking over _Seaview._ " Lee explained.

"Yes, sir," the men replied without hesitation.

"Kowalski and Riley, I want you armed with automatic weapons hiding in the conning tower with me. You're the back up in case things don't go as planned on the dock."

"Aye, aye sir," they replied.

Lee continued, "Before we get to the island, we're going to be at battle stations. I don't want to make a boat wide announcement or sound the klaxon so we don't alert the men in the brig that we know they have men waiting for us. Chief I want you to spread the word and make sure the crew is armed."

"How will we know when we should be at our stations?" Sharkey inquired.

Smiling Lee answered, "When I call your name to come to the control room that will be the signal to be ready."

"Yes sir," Sharkey replied enthusiastically.

"Okay men, dismissed and thanks for your help."

The men left the observation nose and returned to their stations. The admiral, Lee, Chip and Janet remained in the nose. "Admiral how soon did Admiral Starke say he could get that destroyer here to remove the men from the island?" Lee asked seriously.

"I'm going to call him as soon as we're done here. I believe the destroyer is not too far away."

"Let me know what he says as we don't have room to accommodate our new prisoners," Lee said worriedly.

"How about we put them on the beach? It's nice out and they can all be together," Janet suggested.

Lee grinned at Janet, "That would work. We'll have the men guard them until the destroyer arrives. Good thinking."

Chip spoke up when Lee was finished, "Are you just going to let them board _Seaview_ with no resistance?"

"Yes. While some of the men take away the deck detail, I'm assuming the rest of them will come aboard using the forward escape hatch. Janet said that the four of us need to be in the control room, so Barry will send down his men to cover us while the rest of his men round up the crew and remove them from the boat."

"Lee that's a big assumption," Chip voiced his concern.

"I know. They have no idea that I'm not Gallagher and I will have to make like I'm going along with them until we get all of them aboard. When they board the boat, they're going to find an empty control room."

"The control room will be empty?" the admiral asked curiously.

"Yes, the control room crew will be in the passageway near the aft hatch waiting for the men to come down the ladder. We'll have the element of surprise by the time they realize they've been set up and take control of the situation. Besides I'm not thrilled about having you, Chip and Janet waiting here unarmed," Lee said running his hand through his hair. "But I don't have any other ideas on how to capture Gallagher's men without someone getting hurt."

"Okay Lee," Chip conceded, "I don't have any ideas either."

"Let's check our position see how soon we'll be at the island," Lee replied and returned to the control room with Chip following him.

The admiral went to the radio shack, "Sparks put a call into Admiral Starke at SUBCOMPAC and pipe it to my quarters."

"Yes, sir," Sparks replied.

The admiral walked past Lee and Chip in the control room and went up the staircase to his office to wait for his call. Janet stayed in the observation nose and stared out the window hoping everything would go as planned.

((()))

Sparks called the admiral and let him know that his call to Admiral Starke was ready. He turned on the video phone and Jiggs was there waiting for him. "Harry, what's going on…are you on the island…when do you need the destroyer?"

"Slow down, Jiggs," Harry replied. "We should be on the island in about ninety minutes. How soon can you have the destroyer there?"

"I've already have her on the way. She should rendezvous with you in about three to four hours. I hope that's soon enough."

Sighing, "See if you can speed them up a bit. We don't want to have to hold those prisoners any longer than we have too," the admiral replied.

"I'll see what I can do," Jiggs answered. "Just let me know when it's over."

"I'll be in touch," Harry said as he turned off the video phone. He left his cabin and went to the control room to let Lee know the time frame.

Lee and Chip were huddled over the plotting table making sure they were still on course and schedule when the admiral came down the stairs. Lee looked up as he approached.

"Jiggs' says the destroyer should be at the island about three to four hours from now. I asked him to have her speed it up a little."

Rubbing his forehead, Lee replied, "Thanks Admiral. We don't want to deal with Gallagher and his gang longer than necessary."

The three men stood at the plotting table waiting for the right time to call the men to battle stations.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

When _Seaview_ was thirty minutes from the island, Lee picked up the mic, "Chief Sharkey report to the control room." The men in the control room quickly assumed their battle stations as did the rest of the boat. The only men that didn't move were the two men on guard at the brig.

Chief Sharkey reported to the control room as ordered. "The crew has been armed and all battle stations are manned and ready," Sharkey reported, then passed two automatic weapons to Kowalski and Riley.

"Thanks Chief," Lee replied. He went to the radio shack. "Sparks, please call the _Double Vengeance_ and pipe it over to the plotting table," Lee ordered and returned to the table.

"Yes, sir," Sparks answered and placed the call. "Skipper I have Mr. O'Brien."

"Thanks," Lee said as he picked up the mic, "Bobby, everything okay?"

"Yes sir. We're on schedule and should pull into the dock area about fifteen minutes after you. We picked up the speed a little so we'll be there sooner."

"Thanks Bobby that will help. I would like you on the top deck of the yacht watching what is taking place on the dock. I'm not sure how many men will be there so I'm going to need you and our crewmen to cover the men that don't board _Seaview_ ," Lee ordered.

"Yes sir. We'll be ready," O'Brien responded. "Good luck, sir," he said as Lee broke the connection.

Patterson, Marco and Phil would be ready to leave the yacht as soon as they docked along with him and Jacob. Jenny would stay on board and man the radio.

((()))

 _Seaview_ was five minutes away from the island when Lee ordered Chip to surface the boat.

"Surface, surface," Chip ordered maneuvering. Once on the surface he told the deck detail to crack the hatch and prepare to dock.

Lee, Kowalski, and Riley went up the ladder to the conning tower. Ski and Riley crouched down in the tower while Lee took a pair of binoculars and looked at the dock. He could see there were fifteen men there waiting for _Seaview_. He took the mic out of the holder and radioed the control room, "There are fifteen men on the dock waiting for us," he reported.

"Yes sir," Chip answered. "Deck detail is ready to go as soon as she docked."

"Thanks Chip," Lee replied double clicking the mic. "Engine room dead slow."

"Aye, aye sir," they reported.

Lee skillfully maneuvered the huge submarine into the dock. He clicked the mic, "Engine room, stop all engines."

"Aye, aye, sir," they replied.

As soon as the boat stopped the deck detail went out the sail hatch to tie her up and layout the gangplank while the control room crew went out the aft hatch. A man on the dock looked up at Lee and nodded his head. Lee nodded back assuming that was the signal for them to start the operation. Lee stood on the bridge as his men secured the boat. When they were finished, three of the men pulled out guns and pointed them at the deck detail motioning them to follow them. Lee watched clenching and unclenching his fists as the men took away his deck detail.

Exhaling deeply, he watched as eight men made there way onto the quarterdeck of the boat and moved to the sail hatch. Lee motioned for Ski and Riley to go down the ladder back into the control room and hide with the rest of the crew. He quickly scrambled down the ladder after them. "There are eight men coming into the sail hatch," Lee said as soon as he was in the control room."

Lee stood at the bottom of the ladder waiting for the men to come down while the admiral, Chip and Janet waited in front of the plotting table facing the periscope island.

The first man stepped off the ladder, looked at Lee and the empty control room. Lee hoped that the man as Barry. "Welcome aboard Barry," Lee said as Barry stared at Lee and knew that he wasn't Paul Gallagher. Gallagher wouldn't be sunburned if he was on a submerged submarine. He moved to the front of the periscope island away from the ladder so the rest of his men could come down into the control room. Once in the control room they pulled out their guns.

Lee moved to the plotting table next to Janet where he noticed that there were two guns on the shelf under the top of the table.

Once the rest of his men were in the control room, Barry addressed Lee, "Commander Crane, I don't know what kind of stunt your pulling but you'll be sorry." He moved to the same side of the plotting table and took Janet's arm. "Maybe you had better get you crew in here if you don't want something to happen to this lovely lady."

Lee started to call the men into the control room but before he could, Janet elbowed Barry in the ribs and stepped on his foot. It created enough of a distraction that Lee and the admiral could grab the guns for under the table but as Janet elbowed Barry his gun went off hitting Chip in the shoulder. By the time Barry and his men realized what was taking place, the crew ran into the control room with guns drawn and subdued Barry and his men.

Janet immediately went over to Chip who was bleeding pretty badly. "I'm okay," he told her as she helped him up from the floor holding his arm.

Lee went over to the mic, "Doc, report to the control room. Mr. Morton has been shot."

"On my way," Jamie answered grabbing his bag with Frank following close behind.

"Kowalski, Riley, tie them up so they can't try anything and hold them in the observation nose. Before we remove them from the boat I want to see what the other four men are doing." Lee ordered as he stood by Janet and Chip.

"Aye, aye sir," they replied as they zipped tied the men and put them in the observation nose. The control room crew stood guard with their guns drawn.

"Nice work," Lee said to Janet with a wink.

"Thanks," she replied winking back.

Jamie entered the control room and looked at Chip's shoulder. "It doesn't look too bad but I'm going to take an x-ray and bandage it up," Jamie replied after a quick examination. Frank took Chip by his good arm and escorted him out of the control room to sick bay. Jamie looked at Lee and just shook his head.

((()))

Once the men were tied up, Lee went up the ladder to the conning tower. He saw the yacht had already docked and had taken the men on the dock, tied them up and had them sitting on the beach. Lee picked up the mic, "Sparks contact the _Double_ _Vengeance_ ," Lee asked.

"Yes, sir," Sparks replied and piped the call to the conning tower.

Jacob answered the radio call, "Nice work," Lee said gratefully not having to worry about them. "Could you get Bobby and have him call me on the radio?"

"Sure Lee," Jacob answered and left to get Bobby.

A few minutes later, Bobby was on the radio. "Yes Skipper you wanted to talk to me?"

"Good work Bobby. Leave the men on the beach and have Patterson, Marco and Phil guard them until we get the rest of the men off _Seaview_. We'll have more men out there shortly. You're in charge there until further orders. If there's a problem with the men, deal with it as you see fit."

"Aye, Aye, sir," Bobby replied.

Lee returned to the control room and reported to the admiral that the other men were already tied up and on the beach. "Chief, take six of the control room crew and escort the rest of the men out and have them sit with the others, leave Kowalski and Riley here. I want O'Brien, Marco, Phil and the rest of the men to guard Gallagher's group until the destroyer arrives. I want you to return to the boat with Patterson," Lee ordered.

"Yes, sir," Chief replied sharply as he picked six men and they removed the eight men from the boat with no incidents and put them on the beach with the others.

Lee took a deep breath as he only had four more men to remove from _Seaview_. When Sharkey and Patterson returned to the boat Lee gave them further orders. "I want you, Patterson, Ski and Riley to report to the brig and bring up the other four men. Chief, tell the guards to come with too. Make sure you zip tie them up as I don't want any problems."

"Aye, aye sir," Sharkey replied as they left out the aft hatch and went down to the brig.

The admiral, Lee and Janet were anxious to check on Chip and see how he was doing but Lee wanted to make sure the other men were off the boat before he left the control room.

((()))

Paul and the other men heard the footsteps on the ladder. "We'll be out of here in no time," Paul assured the men smugly.

The guards heard his statement and pulled their guns out of the holster ready to shoot if necessary. They relaxed when they saw Sharkey and the rest of the men walking down the passageway.

Paul stood by the door of the brig ready to be released and was shocked to see _Seaview's_ men there instead of his. "What the hell is going on?" he bellowed.

"You'll have to ask the real Skipper," Sharkey replied curtly as he instructed Kowalski to zip tie up each man.

When he got to Gallagher, he zip tied him a little tighter than the others. Gallagher just looked at him and sneered. "You'll be sorry."

The crew escorted the four men back to the control room where the admiral, Lee and Janet were waiting in front of the plotting table.

"Chief, take Arnie, Danny and Spade off the boat and put them with the others," Lee ordered. "Leave Mr. Gallagher here. Kowalski and Patterson remain here please."

"Yes sir," they replied and stood next to Paul while the rest of _Seaview's_ men removed the other three from the boat.

"Kowalski cut the zip ties on Mr. Gallagher," Lee said staring at Paul.

"Sir?" he said.

"Yes, Ski untie him," Lee repeated.

"Aye, aye sir," Kowalski responded and cut the zip ties off of his wrists and stood a little closer to him ready to shoot if necessary.

"How did you know my men were waiting for you?" he sneered as he rubbed his wrists.

Lee looked at Janet who replied, "I told them. I heard you and Adam talking when you left the door open to the cabin. I heard all your plans but I made sure I was back at my desk working when you checked on me."

"You bitch," he hissed and lunged at her, "I should have dumped you overboard when I first boarded that sailboat. You've been a pain in the ass the whole time."

Lee went to punch him but Janet quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. He stopped before he hit him. Kowalski and Patterson grabbed his arms and held Gallagher back.

Lee took a deep breath and looked at the man in his uniform, "Please remove **my** dolphins and star from your collar," Lee ordered. "You can keep the uniform. Also give me my ring and watch."

Gallagher hesitated for a second before Patterson gently pressed his gun to his side. He removed the items and placed them in Lee's hand. "Tie him up and take him away," Lee told Kowalski and Patterson. "Stay with the men until I come ashore."

"Yes sir," they replied and shoved Gallagher up the ladder and off the boat.

Lee put the dolphins and star in his pocket but put his ring and watch on immediately. "Thanks for stopping me," he whispered to Janet. "I would have killed him."

"Admiral, I have the captain of the _USS Hopper_ on the radio. He would like to speak to you," Sparks reported.

Nelson took the call at the plotting table where the captain of the destroyer reported they were thirty minutes away from the island and would send out two RHIB's (rigid hull inflatable boats) to transport the prisoners back to the destroyer.

"Admiral, we need to check and find out where the people in the compound are being held prisoner. I don't know if there are any more men there guarding them. I want to make sure we have rounded them all up. According to the information we have there should be five more men," Lee said worriedly.

"Okay Lee we better check out the compound and see what's going on there before the destroyer arrives."

"I'll check on Chip," Janet said as she walked out the hatch and made her way to sick bay glad to have Paul Gallagher out of her life.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The two men put on their side arms and went up the ladder to the quarterdeck and out on the dock. Lee went over to Sharkey, Kowalski, Patterson and Riley. "You men come with us. We might have five more men that need to be rounded up," Lee told them as they walked to the living quarters of the two building compound.

"Kowalski, Riley, come with me," Lee told the men. "Patterson, Chief, you go with the admiral and take the back door. We'll check out the front door. If our information is correct, there should be five more men left to guard the people at the compound. They made their way to the building, when Lee motioned the men to stay behind him as they crept up to the door. There were two guards outside the front door. They were standing there talking not paying any attention to what was going on behind them. Kowalski snuck up behind the one closest to him while Lee took on the other one. They knocked them out with a quick blow to the head with the butts of their guns. Riley zip tied their hands and stood over them while Lee and Kowalski tried to enter the building.

Nelson, Sharkey and Patterson walked cautiously to the back door of the living quarters. There was only one guard on duty standing with his back to them smoking a cigarette. Patterson walked up behind him and hit him over the head. Sharkey caught him before he hit the ground. Patterson quickly zip tied his hands and dragging the guard, they made their way to the front of the building.

Lee tried the door and found it locked. He reached in his pocket and took out a lock pick. He opened the door on the first try to the grins of Ski and Riley. He and Ski entered a small hallway that led into a larger room. They could hear the people talking so Lee looked around the corner and saw two men sitting at the counter eating lunch. One of his deck hands spotted Lee and discreetly pointed to the two men eating. Kowalski and Lee moved swiftly to the back of the men and knocked them out. Lee quickly zip tied their wrists.

Nelson, Sharkey and Patterson made their way to the front of the building, saw Riley with two men and dropped the man they found in back alongside them. They entered the building and saw that Lee and Kowalski had everything under control.

"Chief, take these men and put them with the rest of them," Lee ordered.

"Let's go men," Sharkey said as they gathered up the still unconscious men and dragged them to the beach and dropped them next to Gallagher. The deck detail stood on guard with the rest of the crew.

"Damn," he said softly realizing he had been beaten by Lee Crane again.

((()))

The men in the building being held hostage were happy to see Nelson and Lee.

"Thanks, Harriman," Dr. Jonas Worth, head scientist, said as he shook Nelson's hand. "Nice work Commander."

"Are you alright?" Nelson asked Dr. Eli Geiger, the other scientist stationed at the lab and the six technicians.

"We're fine," Dr. Geiger replied with a smile. "They didn't hurt us just kept us locked up."

"Admiral, I'm going back to the dock to see if the destroyer has arrived yet," Lee told Nelson. "I'll check back with you later."

"Okay, Lee," Nelson answered as Lee walked out of the building and back down to the dock. He could see the outline of the destroyer just over the horizon. "Chief let me know when the RHIB's arrive."

"Yes sir," Sharkey answered.

Lee walked down the dock and into the sail hatch returning to the control room. "Sparks, have you heard from the destroyer?"

"Yes sir. They should be ready to launch the inflatables in about twenty minutes. They'll have to make two trips."

"Thanks Sparks," Lee replied as Chip and Janet walked into the control room. Chip's arm was in a sling.

"Well," Lee asked looking at his best friend.

"Not too bad. Needed a few stitches and didn't hit anything important. Were there any men at the compound?"

"Yes, the other five men. We managed to knock them out and put them with the rest of them. The destroyer should be here in twenty minutes."

As Lee, Chip, and Janet waited for Sharkey to let them know the men from the destroyer had arrived, Cookie entered the control room.

"Skipper are we still going to have the picnic?" he asked. "And we still need to unload the supplies we brought to the island too."

Lee looked at Cookie and smiled, "We promised them a picnic so we'll give them one. Take a couple of men from the missile room to help unload the supplies we brought for the island and then make preparations for the picnic."

"Aye, aye sir," Cookie answered eagerly and left the control room.

Lee looked at Chip, "We better make out a shore leave schedule so all the men can get off the boat for awhile. We'll have to check the sensors tomorrow so we won't be leaving for Santa Barbara until late tomorrow. We can schedule men for shore leave even though we'll be checking the sensors."

"Okay Lee, Chip and I will work out a schedule," Janet replied as Lee scratched his arm.

"What schedule?" Jamie asked as he entered the control room.

"Diving and shore leave," Lee answered.

"Well, I don't know who you have scheduled to dive but it won't be you or Chip."

"Jamie, I need to check those sensors out," Lee protested.

"You still have some pretty bad blisters on your chest and I don't want the dirty sea water anywhere near them. As for Chip it's quite obvious he can't. Find someone else, you have a whole boat of divers," Jamie quipped as he watched Lee scratch. "I bet you're starting to peel."

"Yes, I'm peeling and the itch is driving me crazy," Lee admitted.

"Stop at sick bay later and I'll give you some lotion," Jamie told him and returned to sick bay.

((()))

Twenty minutes later, Sharkey radioed the control room that the men from the destroyer had arrived. Lee, Chip and Janet made their way out of _Seaview_ and onto the dock where they met Lieutenant Garner and six heavily armed men.

After he saluted Lee and Chip, he said, "Commander, Lt. Commander, we're ready to start loading the prisoners."

"Thank you Lt.," Lee replied and directed Sharkey and _Seaview's_ crew to help load the boats.

After the men were loaded, they returned to the destroyer. Twenty minutes later they were back for the rest. Gallagher and Barry were in the last group to leave. The men on the boat did a double take when Gallagher was brought aboard. They looked at Lee and then at Gallagher. Lee caught their looks. "He's very dangerous so keep a close watch on him. He's no relation just a mad man who assumed my identity. Thanks for taking the prisoners to Pearl for us."

"No problem sir," the Lt. replied saluting and motored the boat away from the dock.

Lee returned to the control room and radioed the captain of the _USS Hopper_ thanking him for relieving them of the prisoners. He told them Admiral Starke would contact them when they docked.

((()))

As soon as the prisoners were removed, Jacob and Jenny left the yacht and boarded _Seaview_ as Lee didn't want them in harm's way when they rounded up Gallagher's men.

"I see the men have been taken away," Jacob said to Lee.

"Yes, they're on their way to Pearl Harbor. Thanks for all your help," Lee replied shaking their hands.

"We would like to leave as soon as we can. We want to get back to LA and see our daughters," Jenny told them.

"We're going to have a picnic later this afternoon and you're welcome to stay," Lee informed them. "And I know you both can pilot the yacht but I'm very uncomfortable with only the two of you on board sailing that far."

"Thanks for your concern but we have no choice. We'll stay for the picnic but will leave as soon as it's over. I've already checked the weather and there are no storms in our path," Jacob said.

Lee rubbed his forehead, "I have an idea. Two of the technicians are scheduled to return to San Diego. They've been reassigned to the new compound being built in the Atlantic. I don't know if they've sailed before but maybe they would like a luxurious ride back to the States. At least you'll have some help."

Jacob looked at Jenny who nodded her head in agreement and answered, "Lee I have no problem with that if they want to sail back with us."

"Let me check with them," Lee replied as he headed up the ladder to the compound.

Lee found the admiral with the two scientists in the laboratory checking on the sensors.

"Oh hi Lee," the admiral said when he saw Lee. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."

"About that sir, Jamie won't let me dive because of my blisters and Chip's arm is in a sling. Looks like you and Sharkey will have to do it. I'll assign Kowalski and Patterson to assist you."

"No problem," the admiral grinned. "I'll look forward to swimming in the nice clear warm water," he teased his captain who he knew was looking forward to doing the dive.

"Just one other issue," Lee continued. "The Crosby's would like to leave for the States later this afternoon but I don't feel comfortable letting them leave with only the two of them on that yacht." He looked over at Drs. Worth and Geiger. "Do you think the two technicians scheduled to return home would mind sailing with them? Its a lot more luxurious than _Seaview_."

Just as Lee was asking the two scientists, four of the technicians walked into the laboratory to check on some experiments they were doing on the coral. The two tech's scheduled to leave were part of them.

"Why don't you ask them," Dr. Worth said as he introduced Sean and Ian.

Lee explained the situation to them and they were very eager to leave on the yacht. They both also had sailing experience and would have no problem helping them out. Lee thanked them and breathed a sigh of relief that the Crosby's wouldn't be alone.

"Thanks," Lee said as he returned to _Seaview_ he saw Jenny and Jacob on the beach and told them they would have company.

"We really do appreciate your concern and thanks Lee," Jenny said with a smile. "Is there anything you need...I can help with the picnic."

"You'll have to talk to Cookie, he's in charge," Lee explained as he saw Cookie unloading the items needed for the picnic. After a quick introduction he put them immediately to work.

Lee returned to the control room where Chip and Janet had worked out the shore leave schedule.

"The techs are going to sail back with the Crosby's," Lee told them as he looked over the schedule. "Look's good," he said and signed off on it. Janet left to post it in the wardroom and mess for the crew.

((()))

Cookie had everything ready for the picnic by 1500 hours. He had two barbeques ready for the hamburgers and hot dogs. Cookie and the mess specialists had made potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans. Jenny pitched in helped them set up the tables. The first group of men on shore leave from _Seaview_ had just come off the boat. Lee, Chip and Janet were in the first group. It was very warm and humid so they changed into shorts and t-shirts. The men were having a good time fishing, eating, and hiking around the island. The Crosby's were also enjoying themselves but Lee could tell they were anxious to leave.

After they had finished eating and cleaned up, the Crosby's were getting ready to leave. Ian and Sean had already stowed their gear aboard the yacht. Jacob and Jenny shook hands with the admiral and Lee. Jacob had promised Chip a tour of the yacht so before they shoved off.

"Thank you for taking care of Lee," Janet said to Jenny giving her a hug.

"You're welcome," Jenny answered returning her hug.

Chip joined the Crosby's along with Sean and Ian and made their way to the yacht. Janet looked at Lee and saw he was sweating and scratching more as the heat and humidity made him uncomfortable.

"Will you excuse us, Admiral," Lee said to him as he was talking with Drs. Worth and Geiger.

"No problem Lee," he replied, "I'll check in with you later."

Lee and Janet returned to _Seaview_. They weren't scheduled to be back for another ninety minutes but Lee wanted to return to the cool comfort of his boat. He also knew that O'Brien, Taper and Sparks were looking forward to hiking on the island but all three were still on duty. He would let them go early and take over their watch.

"Hi Skipper," O'Brien said when Lee and Janet came down the ladder. "You're back early, everything okay?"

"Too hot out there for me," Lee answered with a grin. "Why don't you, Taper and Sparks start your shore leave early. I'll stay here for you."

"But Skipper, if Mr. Morton sees us, he's going to be mad," Taper replied.

Laughing, "I'll take care of Mr. Morton," Lee said.

"Thank you, sir," Sparks responded.

The three men grabbed their gear they had stowed in the radio shack ready to leave when it was their turn. They were making their way up the ladder out of the control room when Chip started to come down and saw the three of them starting to go up.

"Where are you going...you're still on duty?" Chip said a little harsher than he wanted but he was tired and his arm was starting to throb.

"I let them go," Lee answered as he walked over to the ladder. "It's too hot out there for me, I'm sweating which is making me itch."

"Sorry men," Chip responded. "Have a good time."

"Thank you sirs," the three men replied and quickly made their way up the ladder before Chip changed his mind.

"Chip, you're looking a little ragged," Lee commented. "Give me ten minutes to change and then you better hit the rack."

"Okay, sounds good. I'm really tired and my arm is starting to hurt."

Lee quickly made his way up the spiral staircase while Chip and Janet sat down at the table in the observation nose. Janet sat on the side looking out the windows.

"Janet," Chip said, "I'm sorry."

Janet looked at Chip with a puzzled look on her face. "Sorry for what?"

"I should have known Gallagher wasn't Lee. We've been friends too long for me not to have known but damn he was good at being him. There were a couple of times he did things Lee wouldn't have done or said but I just overlooked it thinking he was having a bad day or something. Had I been more observant, it wouldn't have gotten to the point where you had to knock him out."

"Chip, if his eyes hadn't given him away I might have believed he was Lee too so please don't beat yourself up over it."

Chip patted Janet's hand, "Thank you."

Lee came down the staircase and saw the two of them and wondered what they had been talking about. He would ask Janet later.

"I'll take over Chip. Go and get some rest," Lee said with a smile, "And that's an order."

"I'll see you in the morning, night Lee, Janet," Chip replied undoing his tie as he went up the staircase.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Lee wanted to talk to Janet in private but knew the men would be coming and going on shore leave so he closed the crash doors between the observation nose and control room leaving them open a crack in case he was needed. He sat down in the seat Chip just vacated and took his wife's hands in his. "What were you and Chip talking about...it looked serious."

"He apologized to me for not recognizing that Paul wasn't you."

Sighing deeply Lee replied, "From what I've heard, he did a damn good job of being me."

"He did," Janet answered quietly. "I knew he wasn't you, his eyes gave him away...they were cold and empty.

"Janet there's a few things I need to talk to you about. I noticed the new door on our cabin...the welt on your face...the nameplate on the desk. Could you please tell me what happened between you and Gallagher?"

"Lee, nothing happened between us. I slept in the chair when we were first got on board. After I tried to shoot him and he put me in the brig..." Janet started to explain but Lee cut her off before she could finish.

Lee just stared at Janet, "What's this about a shooting...the brig," he asked stunned at what she just told him.

She squeezed his hand and said, "Maybe I better start at the beginning. He sailed the boat back to the dock where Adam meet us. That's how they knew where we were, he planted a tracker on it. If we didn't have to leave for this mission, he would have been found out right away. He didn't put any cameras in the office and had no idea how to act when we were there. But on _Seaview_ he had your every move down pat. He let Chip take out the boat which wasn't unusual either."

"Why didn't you tell the admiral, Chip, Jamie or anybody that he was an imposter?" Lee asked.

"He had videos of them beating or torturing you. He would show them to me threatening to kill you if I told anyone who he really was. Lee, I couldn't take that chance on him carrying out his threat. Besides everywhere I went Adam or Paul were there watching me. I was only alone with Chip one time and I tried to tell him but Adam came in and I had to make up a story about a gift for the Admiral's birthday."

Janet stopped to take a drink of water from the pitcher on the table. "When I first got on the boat, I took your gun and hid it in one of your jacket pockets. I figured he would search the cabin looking for a gun so I hid it in plain sight."

Lee smiled at her and patted her hand. "You're starting to think more like spy than I think I like," Lee told her "but how come you shot him?"

"I got ready for bed while Paul did your walk around. I was alone so I put the gun under the pillow just in case I needed it. He returned from the walk and put his shoes under the chair just like you did and that's when he told me he put a camera in the air vent in our cabin and watched us. I just couldn't stand that he knew our private moments so I took the gun out and tried to shoot him but he lunged at me and I missed and the bullet went into the door."

Lee ran his hand through his hair and asked, "Why were you in the brig?"

"He put me there telling everyone I snapped...I was losing my mind and I needed to be there for his and everyone's safety. He wouldn't let anyone talk to me but him and Adam. I knew if I didn't eat, Cookie would come down and yell at me. When Adam brought my tray of food, I purposely knocked it over so he would have to clean up the mess. While he went to get the mop and bucket, I wrote a note on a napkin and gave it to Cookie to give to Chip."

"Good idea," Lee said giving her wry grin. "The welt and scratch on your face...he hit you."

"When I wouldn't tell him that Cookie had to report to Jamie when I don't eat, he got mad and slapped me. I could tell I was getting to him...I didn't make things easy for him. I think he thought I was just going to do what he said and not fight him but I just couldn't do that."

Rubbing her check, Lee smiled, "I wouldn't expect you to do anything else. How did he get injured?"

"I knew Cookie would read the note and give it Chip. I told Paul I was tired of fighting him and would do what he wanted so he let me go back to the cabin to shower and change. He left on another walk around and I looked for the gun but I couldn't find it. The only thing I found was the glass nameplate...I figured it was better than nothing."

"Where did you find that?" Lee wondered scratching his leg.

"Buried in the back of your bottom drawer and it still had a picture of you and Liddy attached," Janet replied with a grin.

"Sorry, I totally forgot it was there," Lee answered guiltily.

"No need to feel bad...it came in handy...I just removed the picture and threw it in the garbage," Janet laughed and also got a chuckle out of Lee.

Janet stopped for a minute before she spoke again. "I put it under the pillow because I knew Paul thought he was going to get me to sleep with him. I was standing next to the bunk and I let him kiss me. When he did, his eyes were closed so grabbed the nameplate and hit him as hard as I could. He fell down but when he started to get up I hit him again and ran out of the cabin to Chip's. There's a slight issue there, as I didn't knock on his door and when I ran in he was in his underwear." Lee could barely stifle his grin at the thought of Janet seeing Chip in his underwear knowing his friend was probably very embarrassed.

Lee sat there for awhile not saying anything. Janet looked at him. "I'm sorry I let him kiss me but I didn't know what else to do."

"Sweetheart, it's okay," Lee replied softly, "I know you didn't have much choice if you wanted to stop him from taking over _Seaview_ and sending me back to the PR."

"Lee, there's just one more thing," Janet said worriedly. "He still looks like you...what if he escapes...he could pretend to be you again."

"Please don't worry about that. I'm sure he'll be put away where he can't escape," Lee assured her.

He went around to Janet's side of the table, grabbed her hand and helped her up. He gave her a gentle kiss and hug. "I'm sorry," he said as he held her close.

((()))

Lee opened the crash doors when they were done talking. The admiral had just come down the ladder and entered the control room where he saw Lee and Janet. "It's very warm out there," he said as he wiped his brow.

"Did you and Drs. Worth and Geiger work out the details for the dive tomorrow?" Lee asked.

"Yes, we're all set. We'll dive tomorrow at 1000. Hopefully if everything goes according to plan we'll be ready to shove off by 1400 hours."

"Sorry Admiral that I can't go out but Jamie was pretty adamant about not letting me dive," Lee replied scratching his arm.

Patting Lee on the shoulder, he said, "Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it."

Jamie was just coming down the ladder into the control room and caught Lee scratching his arm. "Lee when you're off duty, come to sick bay. I have some lotion that will help the itching."

"Thanks, Jamie," Lee replied as he scratched his stomach.

"Where's Chip," the admiral inquired noticing he wasn't around.

"Hopefully sound asleep. He came back aboard looking pretty tired and said his arm was hurting so I sent him to bed. I'll check on him after I go to sick bay."

"If he's got any problems, please call me," Jamie told Lee.

"Okay Jamie."

((()))

Once everyone had eaten, Cookie and the mess specialists along with help from the men on the island cleaned up and put things away. There weren't many leftovers so he would leave them with the men on the island.

O'Brien, Taper and Sparks returned to _Seaview_ covered in sweat. "Looks like you had a nice hike," Lee mentioned. "Go get cleaned up and report for duty."

"Yes sir," they replied and ran out the aft hatch to their quarters to shower and change.

The admiral, Lee and Janet returned to the observation nose and sat down. "Everything okay, Lee," the admiral asked seeing the serious looks on Lee's and Janet's faces.

"Just fine," Lee answered, "Janet was just filling me in on what took place on the boat while I was gone."

"You should be proud of her," the admiral said patting Janet on the hand. "She's the one who found out all the information."

"Thank you sir," Janet replied. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

"I'm going to shower and go over a few more reports before I turn in for the night. Good night, Lee, Janet."

"Goodnight sir," they replied as O'Brien and Taper came back into the control room ready for duty.

"Thanks again sir for letting us leave early. We probably walked about ten miles. This island sure has some beautiful waterfalls."

Smiling Lee responded, "No problem." He went over the duties he wanted them to take care of while they were on watch. Sparks didn't return since he wasn't due to be on duty until tomorrow morning.

((()))

Lee and Janet went to sick bay to get the lotion from Jamie but before he would give it to him, he wanted to look at his blisters and sunburn. Lee unbuttoned his shirt and took off the t-shirt he was wearing underneath his uniform shirt.

"Your blisters are looking a lot better," Jamie remarked. "Continue to use the ointment and gauze and they should be healed by the time we get home. The blisters on your legs are healed as well as your feet. Here's the lotion for your itching and peeling. You look like a snake shedding his skin," he teased.

"Thanks Jamie," Lee deadpanned taking the lotion from him. "See you in the morning."

((()))

Lee and Janet made their way to they cabin. When they arrived, Janet took the lotion from Lee and went into the cabin while Lee walked down to Chip's. He knocked softly on the door but didn't get any response. He knew if Chip were awake he would hear the knock. He tried the door, found it unlocked so he went in to check on him. He was sound asleep so he quietly closed the door and left for his cabin.

((()))

Lee entered the cabin and found Janet had already gotten ready for bed. He removed his shoes, shirt and pants. He was going to apply the ointment and gauze to his blisters and put the lotion on but Janet took the ointment and smeared it on his blisters and applied the gauze. She then took the bottle of lotion and gently rubbed it on his arms, legs, back and stomach. When she finished, Lee gathered Janet into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. He led her over to the bunk where he removed Janet's nightgown and they climbed in.

((()))

It was 1000 hours and the admiral, Sharkey, Kowalski and Patterson were suited up to go out and adjust the sensors as well as installing a few more as the bleaching of the coral was getting worse.

Lee, Chip and Janet were in the laboratory with Drs. Worth and Geiger watching the instruments as they made the adjustments. After being in the water for an hour, everything was calibrated to perfection and the men returned to _Seaview_.

The two scientists along with the technicians, Lee, Chip and Janet returned to _Seaview_ also. They would have lunch with the men from the compound before preparing to leave for Santa Barbara.

"Thanks for your help, Harry," Jonas said. "Everything is perfect."

"Good," Nelson replied. "I hope we can help with the compound being built in the Atlantic since we know what needs to be done."

"I'll recommend that you be contacted when the times comes," Jonas said shaking his hand as well as the rest of them. Sharkey escorted them off the boat as the deck detail prepared to untie _Seaview_ from the dock.

Lee and Chip were in the conning tower as the deck detail stowed the lines the technicians threw them.

"All back dead slow," Lee radioed to the engine room. _Seaview_ slowly left the dock area and headed out to sea from the small inlet. Once clear of the inlet, Lee and Chip returned to the control room with Lee jumping down missing the last three rungs as his feet no longer bothered him.

"Take her down to two hundred feet, all ahead standard," Lee told Chip who relayed the information to maneuvering.

The admiral and Janet were in the observation nose watching as she went under the water. Lee joined them in the nose. "We should be home in three days," Lee reported to the admiral.

"Sounds good Lee," he answered. "I've got some work to catch up on, so I'll see you for dinner at 1900 hours."

"Yes sir," Lee replied as the admiral went up the staircase. Janet stayed in the nose just watching as _Seaview_ plow her way through the water. Lee gave Janet's hand a squeeze and returned to the control room. She smiled knowing all was right with her world.

((()))

Paul Gallagher laid on his bunk in the brig on the destroyer. They would be docking at Pearl Harbor later that night. He was pissed that Lee Crane and his wife had out smarted him again. He would get even with them someway, somehow when the time was right.

The End

 _Thank you for reading the story. I hope you enjoyed it. A special thanks to all who wrote reviews or sent a private message as I really do appreciate them._

 _Happy Holidays to all of you!_


End file.
